The Forgotten Ones
by babylove969
Summary: Konoha's dark secrets are about to be revealed. Except Konoha isn't the only nation with dirty secrets. When it's time for war and when all secrets are revealed where will the Konoha ninjas stand? With Konoha? Or will an even darker and more hurtful secret shatter their faith in the village? When one ninja is left shattered and broken how will they react and handle their own guilt?
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Okay so this is just something floating around in my head. I just wanted to say that I hate what they have Sasuke wearing as my avid followers know so I am changing his outfit once again. In this story he is sixteen and wearing black skinny jeans, black combat boots, black t-shirt and a form fitting black leather jacket. I don't really know how long this story will be or where I'm even going with this so just bear with me and enjoy the ride.**_

_**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX**_

Chapter 1

Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, Shikamaru and Neji were all standing outside Konoha's front gates. They had been asked by Tsunade to go and escort a high profile squad that she had requested to come to Konoha. They were all getting ready for the up and coming war and Tsunade had multiple village ninjas in Konoha. The meeting was being held in less than thirty minutes in the arena that the third round of Chounin exams were held. Not all ninja were attending the meeting just the main players of each village. Gaara and his two siblings were already there along with the rest of the 'Rookie' teams. Tsunade didn't tell them who they were escorting; she only told them that it was a high profile squad that she had sent word out to requesting their assistances in this war. Tsunade told them to make sure they get to the arena alive and uninjured. She emphasized that they were a powerful squad and they needed the leader in order to stand a chance against Uchiha Madara. They had agreed that they would make sure the squad arrived safely.

"Who do you think it's going to be?" Sakura asked as they stood there waiting.

"I don't know, but if they aren't here soon the meeting will have begun." Neji said.

"If they are so valuable for this war I don't see Lady Tsunade starting the meeting until they arrive." Shikamaru said.

"But who could it be? She said the leader was a key player to deal with Uchiha Madara. Who could that be?" Naruto asked.

"Who is Uchiha Madara?" Sakura asked.

"Uchiha Madara was a very powerful ninja. He fought in the Shinobi War against the Fourth Hokage. He was also the one that released the nine tails from its host. He fought the Fourth Hokage at the Valley of Death and was believed to have died along with the Fourth in the river. The Fourth's body was discovered but his was not. Everyone assumed he was dead, because nothing ever came from him again. Now that we know he is alive it's a very serious problem. Uchiha Madara is incredibly powerful and could easily destroy Konoha within minutes. It's also now a bigger problem, because it means the Akatsuki have two powerful Uchihas and we have none." Kakashi explained.

"Well we don't know which side Sasuke is on." Sakura said.

"Sasuke will fight for us. There's no way he'll fight along-side his brother." Naruto said.

"Assuming he even fights in this war." Neji said.

"We can't trust Sasuke we don't know which side he is on. He betrayed Konoha to fight with Orochimaru. We can't trust that he'll do the right thing." Shikamaru said.

"It's also more complicated than that. Uchiha Madara is Sasuke's great grandfather. The Uchiha Clan has very powerful and strong beliefs that you follow the elders. Sasuke might not agree with what is going on, but his blood might not let him fight against his great grandfather." Kakashi said.

"Because of the beliefs that were instilled in him growing up." Sakura said.

"Exactly." Kakashi said back.

"At least he killed Orochimaru." Naruto said.

"We're assuming he killed Orochimaru we don't know for certain." Shikamaru said.

"Who else would have killed him?" Sakura said.

"Shikamaru is right we shouldn't make assumptions about Sasuke." Kakashi said.

"It looks like this is finally them." Neji said as he looked out into the open road.

The others turned their attention to the open road and four people were walking in a line. All of them had hoods on so they couldn't see who they were, but Tsunade stressed that they were a high profile squad so they weren't too worried. When they got in front of them was when they realized just who was standing in front of them. They didn't remove their hoods, but the one didn't have to.

"Sasuke." Naruto said with shock in his voice.

Neji and Shikamaru put themselves on edge with the arrival of Sasuke. They didn't know what was going on or who the other three were. With the hood on Sasuke's head they couldn't really see his face all that well. They were able to make out that it was him, but specific facial aspects they weren't.

"Take your hoods off." Shikamaru said with authority in his voice.

However, that didn't make the four of them move. The other three turned to look at Sasuke and only when he gave a small nod did the three of them remove their hoods. Sasuke kept his on.

"You to Sasuke." Shikamaru said.

"Until we are in the arena I'll be leaving it on. Unless you are interested in a riot in Konoha."

The others couldn't quite figure out what was going on with Sasuke's voice, but they could hear that something was different about it. It wasn't anything to do with the new age of the ninja it was something else.

"Who's with you Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

"This is Juugo, Karin and Suigetsu they follow my orders."

"What's wrong with your voice?" Sakura couldn't help, but ask any longer.

Sasuke turned his head slightly to look at Sakura and Kakashi could have sworn it took more work than Sasuke was letting on. Kakashi was starting to wonder if Sasuke was in any physical pain.

"Tired. The meeting is about to start we should get going."

"You actually expect us to believe that Lady Hokage requested your squad of all people to help Konoha in this war." Neji said.

"Did you have another Uchiha in mind to fight Uchiha Madara?" Sasuke said it in a neutral tone. There was nothing rude or condescending in his tone. It was almost like he was afraid to go against Madara.

"Tsunade really sent for you?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke reached into his jacket pocket and took out a letter. He handed it to Kakashi and Kakashi noticed the slight tremble in Sasuke's hand. He took the letter and read it before nodding and handing it back to Sasuke.

"Let's go the meeting will be starting once we arrive. I agree with you to keep your hood on, but once we arrive in the arena you'll have to take it off. You'll also have to be prepared for the outcome. The other ninja will not take it very well that you were requested." Kakashi said.

"I'm well aware of that. You don't want me here, but I can't ignore a war this size."

"Fair enough. Stay close to me just in case." Kakashi said

"I'll stay by my squad."

"You used to trust me with your life." Kakashi said somewhat shocked and hurt that Sasuke wouldn't trust him now. It wasn't like Kakashi was the one that betrayed the village. He had done everything he could to keep Sasuke here in Konoha and he was the one to turn his back on them.

"A foolish mistake I won't make twice."

Kakashi caught the slight hurt in Sasuke's voice, but choose not to say anything. In the end it really didn't matter if Sasuke was hurt by any of them. He had no reason to be hurt or angry with them. Sasuke was the one that betrayed them and Kakashi was not going to go out of his way to help Sasuke or to get him to talk. That option was long gone and Sasuke had made his choice. Naruto was getting pissed and they could all see it. He had risked his life to save Sasuke and he had almost died doing it along with Shikamaru and Neji.

"Now you listen here you were the one that betrayed us. You walked away from us so you don't get to say shit like that to any of us. You were the one that turned your back on us. My friends, our friends almost died trying to get you to see sense, but you just don't care."

Naruto got right into Sasuke's face, but before he was able to continue on his rant Juugo and Suigetsu got in front of Sasuke and Suigetsu pushed Naruto back. The actions of the two men was immediately noticed and mentally recorded by Kakashi, Neji and Shikamaru. They were very protective of Sasuke and Sasuke seemed to be perfectly fine letting them.

"Don't get in his face or you're gonna be dealing with me." Suigetsu said.

"I've never known you to let someone else fight your own battles Sasuke." Naruto said.

"I wasn't aware we were in a battle." Was Sasuke's calm response.

"We don't have time for this we need to get going. This meeting is extremely important we're going to find out what the strategic game plan is. We don't have time for small arguments." Neji said.

"Naruto and Sakura go in front. The four of you stay behind them and Shikamaru, Neji and I will stand behind you four." Kakashi said.

Naruto and Sakura started to head towards the gates with Karin in front and Juugo, Sasuke and then Suigetsu behind her. Shikamaru, Neji and Kakashi noticed that the way they did it would make sure that Sasuke was covered by all angles. Once again protecting him and Sasuke was allowing it. These bonds went far deeper than they were letting to be believed. They didn't do this out of routine they did it subconsciously. It was an act that they might never get a reason for. The walk to the arena was done in silence and they all noticed the glances they were getting from fellow ninja and villagers. Thankfully no one had recognized Sasuke, at least until he removed his hood. Once they were inside the arena the four of them took a moment to look around. The room was divided into small village groups each showing their forehead protectors proud. Sasuke noticed that beside the other 'Rookies' were Gaara and his two older siblings. Sasuke figured that they would be better to be standing off to the side where no one was. The other's had a different plan though, they weren't going to let Sasuke and his squad stand by themselves. They had them stand by the rest of the group with Gaara just off to the right of them. Suigetsu stood to Sasuke's right and Karin then Juugo to his left. Sasuke leaned his forearms on the rails to block off the edge. He was going to wait until Tsunade told him to remove his hood, assuming she even would. Naruto however, was not going to let Sasuke off that easily. As he was the last one to walk by he grabbed the back of the hood and pulled it down, revealing Sasuke to the room. It also revealed the serious injuries to his face.

The arena blew up with the ninjas going into attack mode including the Konoha ninjas. The only reason a battle didn't break out was Tsunade's quick thinking.

"Nobody move." She ordered.

She waited until she had everyone's attention before she continued to speak.

"I ordered Uchiha Sasuke and his squad to join us in this meeting. We are dealing with Uchiha Madara and seeing as how Sasuke is an Uchiha we need his intel as well as his abilities. He's here to help and is here on my orders. This meeting is about to start so settle down."

Tsunade then turned to a man that was standing beside her. The Konoha ninjas all turned to Sasuke.

"Why the hell would a traitor like you care about what happens? I'm surprised you're not helping your asshole family destroy the world." Kiba said.

"We don't need scum like you here so just leave." Tenten said.

"I refuse to fight beside someone like you." Lee said.

Sasuke didn't even look at them he just looked down and focused on Tsunade. Suigetsu looked like he was about to say something, but a small shake of his head from Sasuke had stopped him.

"Sasuke what happened to your face?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke's face was black and blue. There were dark black circles under his eyes that showed that he had barely slept in what Kakashi assumed was months maybe more. He had a split lip, a swollen bump on the right side of his forehead, cuts and he was pale from being underground for so long.

"You don't have to act like you care anymore." Was Sasuke's simple answer.

Kakashi was now starting to understand why Sasuke's voice sounded weird. Something must have happened that they weren't seeing for his voice to be off. What he didn't understand was why Sasuke was acting like this with him.

"All those years in the Sound and you're still emo as hell. Do you slash your wrists to Sasuke?" Kiba said rudely.

"Keep talking shit asshole and I'll make sure you never talk again."

"Suigetsu" Sasuke warned.

"What? We're just supposed to stand here and listen to them talk shit about you."

"There are more important things in this world right now."

Sasuke's eyes never left Tsunade and he was grateful that she began the meeting. Everyone's attention was on her and the man standing beside her.

"This meeting is to inform everyone of what is going on with our strategic plan. This is a first draft and we are open to suggestions. Obviously this is not the typical war. This is yet another Shinobi war, a war against the Akatsuki who are being led by Uchiha Madara. I want this as an open form so if you have suggestions or questions in regards to the strategy then speak once you hear the whole strategy. I am not going to answer or hear any questions about why Uchiha Sasuke is here. If you can't figure out why having an Uchiha while we are going up against another two Uchihas is a smart idea than that is your problem." Tsunade said in a zero tolerance tone.

She was met with silence and the man that was standing beside her went to take his place to speak.

"We will take our stand here in Konoha. The villagers will be placed in the tunnels in the Hokage Monument where they will be kept safe. As for the plan for handling the Akatsuki we will handle them the way we have always handled wars and have won. I don't see the reason for changing what works. ANBU will be on guard around the village and they will handle the ninja before they enter the village. The goal is to make sure the fight takes place outside of Konoha. So ninja will be out in the forest in squads to attack from all angles and a few ninja will be placed inside Konoha in case any enemy gets inside the walls. This has always worked for Konoha and its allies in the past and we are confident it will work once again. Are there any questions?"

"Who decides the leaders and people in the squads?" A wind ninja asked.

"That will be discussed by Tsunade-Sama, myself and the highest ranking ninja from each village."

"When will this happen?" Another ninja asked.

"We don't see the need for any hurry. It won't be until at least a year from now before they even make a move on Konoha. That is good, because we have lots of time to get all the squads organized and Konoha ready for the stand."

Karin turned to Sasuke slightly and whispered into his ear.

"How long will it take for Madara to destroy the village by that strategy?"

"Completely… ten minutes." Sasuke whispered back.

"You gonna say anything?" Suigetsu asked.

The whispering caught Gaara's attention. He hadn't spoken a single word since Sasuke had entered and unlike everyone else he didn't believe the story Sasuke had. Gaara could understand hatred better than anyone, but he didn't see that much hatred in Sasuke's eyes when he saw him last. Something just didn't sit right. Sasuke was too different from whom he used to be. Something wasn't right and Gaara was going to find out what.

"They won't listen to me." Sasuke answered back.

"You have to try Sasuke." Juugo said.

"Why does this stand have to take place in Konoha? You're not the only village in this world." Another ninja said.

"The Akatsuki will come for the nine tails. Konoha makes the most sense considering they will come here first. Konoha also has the strongest defences."

"Not true." Sasuke whispered, but it was loud enough that the man heard him.

"What was that traitor?"

At that moment all the eyes were on Sasuke and Sasuke didn't know what to do. He was having enough problems being around this many people. Having everyone's attention was just making his anxiety worse.

"Nothing" Sasuke said back in a neutral tone.

The man was about to go forward when Gaara's voice broke out.

"I think we should hear what Sasuke has to say. Lady Tsunade didn't ask him to be here just to stand around. Sasuke's an Uchiha and only he knows how Uchihas think. He knows how Uchiha Itachi thinks. The rest of us can only speculate and guess what Uchiha Madara is thinking. It would be foolish of us to have an asset like Sasuke here with us and not use him or his knowledge."

Sasuke couldn't help, but look at Gaara as he spoke. Sasuke didn't expect anyone to defend him, but he really didn't expect Gaara to be doing it. If he thought about it though Gaara did understand him to a certain extent, even if he didn't know the truth. Gaara's eyes met Sasuke's and Sasuke didn't see any resentment or any judgement. It was like for a second Gaara knew there was more to Sasuke then everyone thought.

"I agree with the Kazekage. I asked for Sasuke to come and help with this war. I do not want him just sitting around. We need an Uchiha and he's our only option. We should listen to what he has to say." Tsunade said.

"If you were going to ask an Uchiha traitor you should have sent out a request to Uchiha Itachi. At least he would have been useful in a fight. His power is at least respectable." The man beside Tsunade said.

"Exactly what is this little traitor's power? Lying on his back and spreading his legs?" A ninja joked and everyone, but the Konoha and Sand ninjas laughed.

The Konoha and Sand ninjas turned their attentions to see how Sasuke reacted. They expected him to yell something back or go over and hit the man. Instead he kept his face straight with no emotions and said nothing. The three ninjas with him though were ready for a fight. They felt a strong murderous intent coming off the one named Juugo and Sasuke turned his attention to him.

"Juugo" Sasuke said lightly, but the warning was in his voice. It wasn't a warning to stay in line with his orders, but one that said he needed to take control of himself.

Once Sasuke was certain that Juugo was back in control he turned his attention back to the Hokage. She was finally able to get the room to quiet down so she turned her attention back to Sasuke.

"What do you think of the plan?"

She didn't apologise for what the ninja said. She didn't reprimand him at all. She just blew it off like what was said to him wasn't hurtful. A clear reminder to Sasuke that she didn't care, that she hadn't changed at all.

"Madara will have Konoha and everyone dead within ten minutes. Your plan won't work. Madara created this village he knows those tunnels better than anyone. He will have his men go in there and kill every single one of those villagers. You can't make the mistake in thinking that Madara is just another person. He killed the Fourth and was able to live under an alias without anyone detecting him for all these years. He has close to fifty thousand followers that will be here for that final battle. Plus there are seven other Akatsuki members that are high level S-Class criminals. You're not fighting against another village you're fighting a war against the best of the best. You can't have this final battle in Konoha. Not in a village that Madara help create from the ground up. You'll be sentencing your ninjas and villagers to their death not to mention this world as we know it."

The Konoha and Sand ninja noticed that Sasuke's voice was calm and collected. They also noticed it didn't hold any authority or confidence that it used to. There was no fire in his voice or in his eyes. He was just empty.

"You give too much credit to a mere Uchiha." The man snarled.

"He's not just a mere Uchiha. He's the Uchiha and you're undoing is underestimating him." Sasuke simply stated.

"What do you suggest?" Tsunade asked before a comment could be made.

"Take this war far away from this village and the villagers. A secret location, another village you trust, just not the village that was built by Madara. There are no blueprints of this village. Madara knows every secret tunnel and cave. He could have knowledge of tunnels that lead right into Konoha that you don't even know about. He hasn't been in Konoha for sixteen years that you know of, but up until a few weeks ago everyone thought he was dead. You can't say for certainty that he hasn't been in the village since he left sixteen years ago. There are too many factors and too many unknowns. If you wish to succeed in this war then you need to make this war on your own terms. Don't wait for them to come to you. If you wait that year he'll have gotten more followers and more tail demons sealed in his statue. There are too many risks that you need to eliminate."

"Hmm" Tsunade said as she started to think about what Sasuke had to say.

"You can't seriously be listening to him right now? He could be working for them. How do we know what side he is really on?" The man said.

"We don't. He could be reporting back to them or trying to lead us into a trap. He shouldn't be here he can't be trusted." Another ninja said.

"I need to think about everything that has been said. This meeting is to be continued in a couple of days once I do some more research. I would appreciate it if everyone remained in the village so we can continue this meeting in two days. I would also like to stress that no one, I repeat no one, is to go after Uchiha Sasuke and his squad. I had him come here on my request and anyone that does anything to them will face the consequences." Tsunade said.

Tsunade was met with a room of groaning men. Karin turned her attention to Sasuke.

"Where are we going?" She said just loud enough so the other three could hear her.

"There's a house on the compound that I used to live in. It's secluded and the compound is covered in traps. We have the best chances there."

"Are you okay?" Juugo asked.

They all knew how much anxiety Sasuke got when around a group of people, and this was a huge group for him. After spending so many years in the Sound, Sasuke wasn't used to be around more than two people at once. Being around this many was giving him problems that the three of them could clearly see.

"I need to get out of here; preferably before all of these people leave."

"The meeting is over right?" Suigetsu asked.

"For now." Sasuke answered.

"Then what are waiting for let's get out of here." Suigetsu said.

Gaara had been listening in on the small conversation that was being had. Most people didn't know that Gaara had very good hearing from growing up constantly having to watch his back for attacks. Gaara didn't know what was going on with Sasuke, but he was going to find out. Gaara took out a very small microphone that he had just in case he ever needed it to plant on an enemy. Being the leader of a village he had to think differently. He was always on the look-out for an attack so he kept a small microphone in his pocket for just in case. In Gaara's experience it was better to be safe than sorry, which he had found out the hard way. Before they were able to walk away Gaara placed a gentle hand on Sasuke's shoulder and spoke to him as he placed the microphone on his shoulder. Gaara didn't keep his hand there for any longer than he needed it to be so it wouldn't look suspicious.

"For what it's worth, I'm glad you're here to help."

"Thank-you Kazekage-Sama."

"There's no need to be so formal Sasuke. I agree with what you said and I'll do my best to convince Tsunade-San to think otherwise. I'll be staying at the Konoha Inn if you need me. Don't be afraid to come and talk."

"We need to get going before the crowd lets out."

Gaara just gave a nod of understanding and watched as Sasuke left with his squad surrounding him. Gaara didn't say anything he just waited until everyone, but the Konoha ninjas, his siblings and Tsunade had gone. He wanted them to listen to the conversation that Sasuke might be having. Gaara knew that once they were back inside the compound that they would be having a conversation about this whole mess. Gaara thought it would be important for everyone to hear it. Something wasn't right about Sasuke and Gaara was not going to let it go until he found out. Gaara had everyone go down to where Tsunade was before he took out the speaker for his microphone.

"Before Sasuke and his squad left I put a small microphone on his shoulder. He doesn't know it's there and I thought before we all leave we should listen to see what they have to say."

"I see I'm not the only one who doesn't trust him." Tsunade said.

"I didn't do this out of mistrust."

"Then why did you do this?" Temari asked.

"Because something is wrong. He was too different from who he used to be and I would like to know what they say when they think no one is listening. They might just reveal something we don't know about what happened in the past three years. They left about twenty minutes ago before everyone else. They should be at the compound or so by now."

Gaara turned the speaker on, but they didn't hear anything other than the shuffling of someone walking. So they continued their conversation.

"I didn't see him being any different. He was an asshole when he left and he's still one now. He wouldn't even look at us." Kiba said.

"When we were at the gates I noticed that his hands were shaking." Kakashi said.

"That could be from pain and exhaustion. His face was beaten pretty badly I think it's safe to assume he killed Orochimaru." Tsunade said.

"Why the extreme exhaustion though, from what I could tell he hadn't slept in months." Shikamaru said.

"At least six months, it could be years. The longer a person goes without sleep the greater the affect it has on someone's body and mind." Sakura said.

"What kind of affects could it have?" Naruto asked.

"Dizziness, fainting, short-term memory loss, disorientated, disorganized, forgetfulness, and hallucinations. It can become very dangerous to the one that is not sleeping." Tsunade explained.

"So he could be mentally unstable and therefore shouldn't be here or even listening to him." Tenten said.

"That is only the Hokage's decision." Gai said.

"Why didn't you tell us it was Sasuke that we were escorting?" Kakashi asked, but she could hear the undertone of anger in his voice.

"If I had, would you have gone?"

"I don't know. After three years I never expected him to be coming into Konoha willingly." Kakashi answered.

"I needed him to be escorted to the arena to make sure he was kept alive. I still need him alive. Whether we like it or not Sasuke is the only hope we have of beating Madara. We need an Uchiha and he's all there is." Tsunade said.

"Except he could be a spy. I mean come on why would he agree to come after he betrayed us all? That doesn't make any sense. He's here for trouble not to help." Kiba said.

"I hate to agree, but Kiba does make a good point."

"Sakura-Chan you can't be serious. Sasuke wouldn't come back here just to cause us trouble." Naruto said.

"Kiba might be right. We don't know Sasuke anymore. Who's to say he isn't a spy." Shino said.

The conversation was cut off when they heard Karin's voice come over the speaker.

"So this is the Uchiha compound. Is it weird for you to be going through here after what happened?"

"I try not to think about it. The house is at the outskirts of the compound. No one had lived there for close to ten years before that night. It was pretty rundown, but over the years I repaired it myself. I'm not sure what condition it's in now."

"I'm sure it will be fine. Just in need of some cleaning." Juugo said trying to sound positive.

"I think when we get there we need to have a serious conversation about what we're going to do." Karin said.

"Damn right we do. Those assholes just think they can boss us and bully us around. Like hell I'm putting up with that shit. We're here to do them a favor. I favor they don't deserve after what they have done."

"Suigetsu calm down and wait until we get to the house. I don't want to risk anyone hearing this conversation." Sasuke said.

"I know" Came Suigetsu reply.

They heard some shuffling and the sound of an old door opening and they knew that they had arrived at the house.

"Wow this is a lot of dust and dirt." Karin said.

"It's been years since anyone was in here. What do you expect?" Suigetsu said.

"Maybe we should go sit outside and talk." Juugo suggested.

"Ya we can clean afterwards." Karin agreed.

They heard more shuffling and the sound of a sliding back door being opened. After a few moments they heard someone speak again.

"How are you feeling Sasuke?" Juugo asked.

"Karin, do you sense anyone around?" Sasuke asked.

"Nowhere near here. It's safe to talk. How are you feeling?"

"Same as I was this morning; tired and sore."

"Well tired isn't surprising you've slept what maybe ten hours in the last three and a half years. You're beyond tired, you're in the level of where you could die you're so tired." Karin said.

That got everyone's attention in the arena. Karin had said three and a half years. That didn't add up, Sasuke had only been gone for three years so where did the other half come from.

"I haven't died yet." Sasuke said back and they could hear more clearly the level of exhaustion in his voice than they did earlier. Perhaps it was because now they were truly listening and not just seeing.

"Not for the lack of trying."

"Suigetsu…" Sasuke warned.

"I wanted to kill that bastard for what he said to you about being emo and slashing your wrists. Five times you tried to kill yourself and you would have succeeded if it wasn't for the hidden cameras in the room you were being held in. Kabuto saved you, but just barely each time you slashed your wrists. And what does that little fuck do just throws it out there like its' some joke. I thought for sure Juugo was going to start going on a killing rampage after that fucker flat out calls you a whore. And what do they do? Nothing. They didn't laugh, but they didn't say anything to defend you either. You can't tell me that didn't hurt."

"Of course it hurt. This whole thing hurts." Sasuke whispered, but because of the microphone everyone in the arena could hear the raw emotions.

"Then why are we doing this? They obviously don't care. When they saw that you were injured they didn't even ask if you were alright. That one bitch Sakura she's a medic she could have checked you out and healed you, but she didn't even say anything about it. Why are we risking our lives to help them when they don't even care enough to ask you what happened three and a half years ago." Karin said.

"And what was that about your friends almost dying trying to stop you?" Juugo asked.

"I don't know; something must have happened with the clone Danzou made. I have no idea what they're talking about. As for why we're doing this, because it's what is right. We're not here to fight for them. We're here to fight for the innocent children and women that will be killed if we don't."

"What was it like seeing them again?" Juugo asked.

"It was fine. I expected Naruto to go off and for Sakura to be quiet. I didn't expect them to be able to tell the difference between me and a clone."

"But?" Karin asked.

Sasuke let out a sigh. "But I wasn't expecting it to hurt that much seeing Kakashi. I knew Naruto and Sakura wouldn't be able to tell the difference, but I thought Kakashi would. Three and a half years I spent in that room and every day, every single day I would tell myself that that was the day Kakashi would walk through that door. He'd tell me I was safe and bring me home and every day he didn't show it hurt more and more. I believed what he said to me and having to realise that he didn't mean it, that it was just empty words for his job hurt a lot more than anything Orochimaru did to me."

"We should never have come here." Suigetsu said.

"We needed to hear their plan for this war. And I needed to know if I could ever come home." Sasuke said.

They couldn't believe how broken Sasuke's voice sounded. As Kakashi stood there listening to how Sasuke was waiting for him, how he thought he didn't care broke his heart. Sasuke's attitude towards him now made sense. Sasuke actually believed that it was all an act, just him doing his job.

"Which you can't, based on their reaction." Juugo said sympathetically.

"No I can't."

"At least you have Itachi and us." Karin said.

"I have to say I'm surprised that when someone other than Orochimaru and Kabuto came into the room that it was Itachi."

"But you know the truth about what happened that night now. You have your brother back that's something." Karin said.

"At least something good came out of it. Now all we have to do is figure out what to do about this war. I don't even know where to start."

"So let's talk it out." Suigetsu said.

"Well first thing first, are we staying here or not?" Karin asked.

"We can't stay here. The plan they have won't work and they won't listen to me."

"Maybe they would if you told them the truth about what happened." Karin said.

"They wouldn't believe me over Danzou and Tsunade."

"You don't know the Hokage had any involvement in what Danzou did." Juugo said.

"There's no way she didn't know. She's the Hokage; she's the leader of this village you can't sell a thirteen year old to an enemy without her knowledge. The Third Hokage was her teacher and he committed genocide against my Clan. There's no doubt in my mind that she didn't know. They're all the same all they hear is the last name and the rest doesn't matter. The Third said that the Clan needed to be killed, because they were too pissed at Konoha. But no one took the time to stop and ask why they were so pissed off. If they did they would have found out that the Clan was pissed, because Uchihas were being killed by their own squads and it went ignored by the Hokage and the council. They would have found out all the reports made to Danzou about ANBU raping the Clan's women. Yet again nothing was done, because no one cares about the person behind the name. None of that would have happened to the Nara Clan or the Hyuuga Clan, but because it was an Uchiha then who cares. She knows the truth she just doesn't give a damn all because of a last name."

Sasuke started coughing from talking so much. His voice was still hoarse from not being used over the last three and a half years. All this talking was taking a toll on him.

"So we're not staying in Konoha. Where are we going to have this war?" Suigetsu asked.

"If this war doesn't happen in Konoha what village can it happen in?" Juugo asked.

"Should it happen in a village? Won't that create more casualties?" Karin asked.

"It shouldn't be in a village. There are too many unknowns and too many risks. There's this castle type structure in the middle of the forest. It's about a week travel from here. It's abandoned, but the structure is sound. There's a locking front gate, the walls are solid rock and twenty feet in the air. I'm not too sure what the inside is like, but it would be the perfect place to have a war. No casualties and who cares if it gets destroyed." Sasuke said.

"Ok see now we're getting somewhere. Who do we have as enemies in this?" Suigetsu asked.

"There are seven Akatsuki members, six minus Itachi. Plus the fifty thousand followers they have that will be at this war." Juugo said.

"Plus they may or may not have a tail demon with them." Karin added.

"How many demons have they gotten?" Suigetsu asked.

"Itachi said they had five. All the hosts are dead with the exception of Gaara. We know where the nine tails is, but the other three we don't know." Sasuke said.

"What we need is ninja to fight." Juugo said.

"That's going to be a problem. The seven main nations will fight together and none of them will fight with us." Karin said.

"But that's only seven villages. There's more than that in this world." Suigetsu said.

"How many of those villages have ninja though?" Karin asked.

"Two hundred and three." Juugo said.

"How do you possibly know that?" Suigetsu asked.

"I overheard Orochimaru talking about it one day." Juugo answered.

"So we reach out to them. See how many of their ninjas are willing to fight." Karin said.

"It's not that simple there has to be a reason why they won't fight. The seven main villages would have requested every available ninja and they refused to fight." Juugo said.

"With good reason. They won't fight for the seven nations no matter what." Sasuke said.

"Why though? What good reason would they have to risk the outcome of this war?" Karin asked.

"Remember when we would travel from base to base at night. Remember the villages we would travel through and there would be children chained to these metal poles outside. They were being sold in the sex slavery. The children are outside regardless of the weather and sometimes they would just leave the child's dead body still chained to the pole. Two hundred and three villages are being abused by the seven nations. Konoha alone has their hand in over a hundred child slavery rings that they take profit from. The land of the mist leader, she provides children for it. The ninja and men in these villages are doing everything they can to fight the wrongs, but when they get close one of the main nations send in their ninja and kill them. They live in poverty, abuse, homeless, slavery and it's all because of the seven nations. They won't fight for the ones that are making their lives miserable. The only village they might consider fighting for is the Sand and that's only, because Gaara is young and is the only village that doesn't have their hand in the cookie jar." Sasuke explained.

"Maybe we should go and tell Gaara. Maybe he'll listen to us." Juugo said.

"The proof is in the village's council paperwork. They don't try and hide their involvement why would they? They have been getting away with it all this time and no one will stand up for them. The problem is I don't know if Gaara will risk the safety of his village to put an end to it all. Gaara is young and he's loyal to Konoha. I don't see him leaving here to fight with us and those men. He would be risking Konoha removing their alliance and attacking the Sand. I don't see him risking it." Sasuke said.

"So we're on our own. Alright how do we do this?" Suigetsu asked.

"First thing is first we need ninja. Everything else doesn't matter if we don't have enough men." Karin said.

"I can send messages out to those villages and explain the situation. They won't fight for Konoha or the other villages, but they might fight for you." Juugo said.

"Not just ninja we need any man over the age of eighteen to come and fight. This isn't a Shinobi war, this is a world war. It involves everyone. Madara won't just kill ninja; he's going to kill everyone that he can get his hands on. They won't fight for a village, but they need to fight to keep their loved ones alive. That's what we need to get them to focus on. We need them to see that if they don't fight their wife and children could die." Sasuke said.

"But the men won't be trained." Karin said.

"So we train them to use weapons, shoot an arrow and learn some hand to hand combat. They don't have to fight the Akatsuki members, but they can be taught how to fight the followers. We just need the numbers to stand a chance against them. We can teach men how to defend themselves."

"You're talking about a reckoning. Ninja and men have never fought beside each other before. This could change everything." Juugo said.

"I like it." Suigetsu said.

"When do we make the strike?" Karin said.

"I can keep in contact with Itachi for information. Ideally I would like the Akatsuki members to be killed before this war. If we can get one alone and send in a squad to kill them one at a time, then when the war comes at least we just have Madara to worry about. Itachi will handle Madara and the rest is up to us. This needs to happen between four to six months from now. The longer we wait the more time Madara has to get the remaining three tail demons. Plus his followers will have grown in numbers. If we wait too long we'll be fighting against seventy-five to a hundred thousand followers. We don't have numbers to fight that many. This needs to be as quick as we can make it. Once we are ready we can have Itachi start the war and bring them to us."

"That's a lot of work in just four months." Suigetsu said.

"Sasuke you know you can't fight in this war. You're not healthy enough." Karin said.

"Realistically Itachi won't let me fight in this war. His job is to fight Madara and mine is to give him the army that he needs to do it. I don't know what my condition will be like in four months, but I don't expect to be in shape for this war. I'll probably be on the wall with a bow. That way I can keep an eye on Itachi in case he needs help with Madara."

"Sasuke you haven't fought or trained in three and a half years. You don't have the skills to fight Madara even in perfect health." Juugo said.

"I know that, but I'm not going to just stand by and watch Itachi get killed. If he has trouble with Madara I'm jumping in."

"There is another issue we need to think about. Itachi killed Orochimaru, but he didn't kill Kabuto. Kabuto could take the Sound's army and join forces with the Akatsuki just to kill you both." Suigetsu said.

"I know, but I can't think about that yet." Sasuke said.

"Well let's focus on the things we can figure out. When are we going to leave?" Karin asked.

"The sooner the better. If Konoha finds out that Sasuke doesn't have the skill level to kill Madara they could kill him." Juugo said.

"We've been traveling all night long. I think we should each take a bedroom and change the bedding to the clean ones in the closet and get some sleep. I'll write the messages and when everyone is awake we can send them and then at night we can sneak out."

Sasuke started to cough again and they could tell he was getting worse. Once the coughing died down Karin spoke.

"You need a hospital Sasuke."

"No"

"I know after Kabuto you don't like doctors. I understand that I do, but how long are you going to go on like this? You've had pneumonia for three months now, your hands shake from either your nerves or you have actual nerve damage. You could have lung damage from the air you were breathing in. You've barely slept in three and a half years. You need to see if you have any server damage or permanent damage. You need a strong antibiotic, sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medicine. You were five minutes from having a panic attack in that arena and that was only a hundred people. How are you going to handle being around tens of thousands?" Karin said.

"I don't know… I don't know." Sasuke sounded so broken in that moment. "I know I'm sick. I know I'm not in any condition to be a part of this war. I don't know how I'm going to do it. All I know is I have to do this. I can't just leave Itachi hanging and on his own for this. The last three and a half years the world was simple. It was painful, but it was simple. Every day it was the same thing. It was dark, quiet and small. Now everything is hard, big, loud and so bright. All I want to do is go and find some small dark place to hide in and maybe I can feel like I can breathe again. I don't know how I'm going to do this. I don't even know where to start to come up with a strategy, but he's counting on me so I can't let him down."

"We're here for you Sasuke. I know none of us are strategic players. We're just fighters, but we're here to help. We believe in you." Juugo said.

"You guys should get some sleep. I'll grab the hopefully clean blankets from the closet."

"You need to sleep as well Sasuke." Karin said.

"I know. I'll try."

"That's all we can ask." Suigetsu said.

The others in the arena heard some shuffling and doors opening. They could assume it was the closet door for the linens and then more shuffling of them walking. They finally heard one door open and then close, than it was quiet. They knew that Sasuke was now in his own bedroom. They could hear his breathing pick up and they knew he was having a hard time getting a grip on himself. They heard more shuffling and then a door being open and then closed. They could hear Sasuke sitting down somewhere, but they couldn't actually see where.

"I need to get a hold of myself. How am I ever going to do this? I can't keep hiding in closets just to be able to breathe. I have to get past this somehow. It's just so bright and so loud out there, god I can't do this."

They could hear the tears coming from Sasuke. They couldn't believe how broken he was. After a few minutes of listening to Sasuke cry he spoke to himself again.

"I need sleep, but I can't it's not safe. It's not safe, it's never safe. I have to write those messages. Just a few more minutes than I have to do that."

They listened for a few more minutes, but all they heard was Sasuke trying to get his breathing under control. When they heard more than that it was just some doors opening and then it was silent once again. Gaara kept the small speaker in his hand just in case there was more talking or something happened. Gaara took a second to look around at everyone's face and they were all shocked.

"This can't be happening. This can't be possible." Naruto said.

"We saw him leave. We went after him. We would have noticed if he was a clone." Kiba said.

"Would we?" Ino asked.

"Did you know?" Kakashi asked with anger in his voice that he didn't even try to hide.

"Of course I didn't know. I didn't know about any of this. I can't imagine that the Third would order the Clan's death. I have no idea what he is talking about." Tsunade said.

"So what we just believe what he says?" Tenten said.

"Why would he lie? He didn't know we were listening if he did he wouldn't have broken down. Why lie about it?" Shikamaru said.

"I think we need to stop asking ourselves why and start trying to figure out where we go from here. They said it's been three and a half years. That's three and a half years Sasuke has been tortured. We got fooled by Danzou and a clone and Sasuke is the one that has paid that price." Neji said.

"He would have been tortured in every possible way. Him putting himself in a closet just to breathe is a huge problem. The trauma that Sasuke has is extreme and he might never recover from it." Kakashi said.

"He's short to. Based on the height of the rest of the male Uchiha's Sasuke is too short. They are all usually over six feet, Sasuke is maybe five foot nine. Which means the place that he was being kept in was cramped and his bones couldn't grow properly. Combine that with the lack of nutrition, sunlight and sleeping that's why he's short. It also means that his bones are fragile and he might never be able to be a ninja again. He might always be in some level of pain. That's not including any other problems he might have." Tsunade said.

"I don't want to sound cold, but we need to focus on the fact that Sasuke can't fight Uchiha Madara. Are we just trusting Uchiha Itachi to fight, that he isn't playing with Sasuke's mind." Temari said.

"Itachi isn't playing with Sasuke. He told him the truth about the Clan's death and he got Sasuke out of the Sound. Itachi kept Sasuke alive because he loves him. Itachi will kill Madara and unless Konoha does something to correct their wrongs his anger will turn to Konoha next. As cliché as it sounds, the one person you don't want pissed off at you is Uchiha Itachi." Kakashi said.

"We shouldn't let them leave." Gai asked.

"I'm not about to arrest him to keep him here." Tsunade said.

"He tried to kill himself five times. It was so bad that he tried to kill himself just to escape it." Sakura said softly.

"They were right we didn't defend him. We should have stood up for him after what that guy said. What if it's true? What if Orochimaru raped Sasuke?" Naruto said.

"Unfortunately that is a very real outcome." Tsunade said.

Kakashi turned and started to pace they all could tell that he was upset. What Sasuke said would have affected him. Sasuke had waited for Kakashi and he didn't show. It also explained why Sasuke was so hurt and upset with Kakashi.

"Kakashi" Gai started. Kakashi stopped pacing and faced the group.

"He waited for me. Every day he waited for me to walk through a door. I don't want to know what he went through, but my mind is already coming up with horrible situations that Orochimaru and Kabuto have done to him. He's terrified to go to a hospital, because of whatever Kabuto did to him. He's terrified to even sleep, because of what they did to him. He was counting on me to know the difference between him and some clone and I failed him. He thinks everything I said to him was just empty words, a part of my job. I don't even know where to begin to make this up to him."

"We might never be able to." Shino said.

"Shino" Hinata said.

"It's the truth. We let him down. Not a single one of us thought twice about what happened. We all judged him and treated him like crap when he did show up. We didn't ask if he was okay once we saw that he was hurt. We didn't defend him. Kiba made a joke about him trying to kill himself. We haven't given him any reason to even think about trusting us."

"We didn't know the truth." Naruto said trying to defend themselves.

"You didn't stop and ask either." Kankurou said.

"I didn't hear you asking or defending him." Naruto said.

"He's not my comrade or from my village. We were here to listen to the plan and help if need be." Kankurou said.

"You're quiet Gaara-Sama. What are you thinking?" Shikamaru asked.

"I'm thinking Sasuke was wrong."

"About what?" Temari asked.

"About me not risking my village for doing what is right. Whether you believe Sasuke or not, I do. So until Konoha is able to provide proof that you did not sell a thirteen year old to Orochimaru. Until you prove to me that Konoha is not involved in any illegal activity in any village. The alliance between the Sand and Konoha is terminated. That will also go for the other nations. I will not be associated with criminals. If Konoha's council is involved in criminal activity then only when you have removed and named a new council will I consider an alliance once again."

"Gaara you can't be serious? You can't risk the village for this." Temari said.

"I will not tolerate being in an alliance with criminals. I will be going to speak with Sasuke and letting him know that this conversation happened. I am not going to start something off on a lie. I believe every single word he said and I will not stand by and let innocent people be hurt. I don't care if it means that I no longer have an alliance with the six nations. If you are who you say you are then you will not tolerate it either. So until I have proof my ninjas will fight along-side Sasuke. What you do is up to you."

"I didn't know anything about any of this. I did not sell Sasuke to Orochimaru. I would never have put Sasuke in that situation or anyone. Orochimaru was on my team, I know what he is capable of I would never put a child in there with him. As for the rest I have no idea any of this had happened. I am leaving here and going to the council and searching for any record of this. If Konoha is involved they will be executed and a new council will be put in place. I won't stand for this anymore than you will. I will be looking into the other nations' financials and I would love the name of the villages so I can send out a squad to scout. I won't stand for this anymore than you will."

"We need to talk to Sasuke and get the names of those villages. We need to help him in this war. We can't just leave this pressure on him." Kakashi said.

"Sasuke will have the Sand to stand by him." Gaara said.

"I'm going with you." Kakashi said.

"Me two." Naruto said.

"I can't send Konoha ninjas with Sasuke. They won't listen to him and they will just make it impossible to fight this war. Konoha will stand as a second line in case you fail. If any of you wish to go with Sasuke then so be it. I won't make you stay here." Tsunade said.

"My squad is going. That is not up for debate. We will fight in this war." Gai said.

"Mine is going as well. We abandoned Sasuke once and I will not let that happen again." Kakashi said.

"We're all going." Shikamaru said.

"I think Gaara would be best to handle this situation. You should go and speak with Sasuke and let him know that they will be joining him. I need to stay here in Konoha, but during the next few months I will come by and check in. I'll also be there for this fight. You will need all the medic-nins that you can get. I also want you all to understand that Sasuke is traumatized. Speak with Sasuke, but you might get more of an answer from his squad. Find out what his triggers are and avoid them like the plague. Do not ask him a bunch of questions; if he doesn't want to be around anyone respect that. This is a very dangerous and delicate situation. If anyone is to handle Sasuke leave it to Itachi, his squad and if nothing else Kakashi. Sakura try and get Sasuke to let you heal him, but don't pressure him. He is extremely traumatized do not make it worse." Tsunade said.

"We leave tonight so I suggest we go home and pack and rest up." Kakashi said.

"I'm going to speak with Sasuke alone. I don't want to over crowd him." Gaara said.

"I think that would be best." Tsunade said. "And I will get to the bottom of these villages. While you are waiting for the ninjas and other men to arrive see if you can get Sasuke to show you these villages. I want pictures of what is going on in the village and of any ninja wearing any of the seven nations' symbols."

"We'll get it done." Naruto said.

"Do not interject. We have one war right now I do not want another one to go with it. Once this war is over than we will go and make it right." Tsunade said.

"We won't cause another war, we will just gather information if we can." Kakashi said.

"Good you all need to rest and get ready. My ninjas, you will listen to Gaara-San and Kakashi. I expect Kakashi and Shikamaru to help Sasuke with a strategy if he needs it. Don't crowd him or make him feel like you are over taking this, but help him if he seems stuck." Tsunade said.

"We'll offer our assistance and let him know we're there for him." Shikamaru said.

"Sasuke is smart I'm sure he already has ideas in his head he just might need some help getting them down." Kakashi said.

"I'm sure that's the case. So keep an eye on him and listen to his squad. They know him better than anyone right now so listen to them. When they tell you to back off and stop, do it. Obviously the outcome of this war is the most important, but Sasuke's health comes second. Do not make him worse than he already is." Tsunade said.

"We will listen to them. We don't want to make Sasuke any worse than he already is." Naruto said.

"Good now get out of here. I have some investigations of my own to attend to." Tsunade said in a dismissive tone.

They all headed out of the Arena and Gaara turned the speaker off. Sasuke was busy writing messages and the other three were sleeping. Gaara was going to go over there by himself and he was hoping his presence wouldn't upset Sasuke. Gaara told his siblings that he wanted to go alone and they weren't happy, but they understood. They didn't want to upset Sasuke anymore than Gaara did and three ninjas that he really didn't know could very well do that. They said they would meet back at the room and they could get some rest to head out that night. They knew Sasuke was going to go regardless of anyone else, and they weren't even sure he would wait for them to go. He might sneak out before dark. Gaara headed over to the Uchiha compound and went to the back of the compound and started to look for a more rundown house. He found the very last house in the compound and he knew that was the house. He went up to the door and knocked before he entered slowly. Sasuke was sitting on the couch and Gaara could see the fear in his eyes as he entered the house. Gaara closed the door and then spoke.

"Hello Sasuke, I just came by to talk if that's alright with you." Gaara's voice was gentle like he was speaking to a frightened child.

Sasuke moved the papers that were on the table and turned them over so Gaara couldn't read them.

"What would you like to speak to me about Kazekage-Sama?"

"Do you mind if I sit down with you?"

"No of course sit. My apologizes Kazekage-Sama."

Gaara made his way over to the couch and sat down at the opposite end of the couch. Gaara wanted to give Sasuke some space.

"You can call me Gaara Sasuke. You don't need to be so formal. How are you feeling? Your face looks very painful."

"I'm fine. What can I help you with?"

"You're not fine Sasuke."

Gaara was about to continue when he heard footsteps coming down the hall. A second later the three squad members were walking down the hall.

"What are you doing here?" Suigetsu said.

They walked over closer to Sasuke in case something happened.

"He just wants to talk Suigetsu. Be polite please."

"I would like to speak with Sasuke about this war. I was hoping to do so alone, but I understand your need to protect him. He's been through a lot and the three of you have taken to be his protectors. If you wish to stay then please sit down and let's have a civil conversation." Gaara said.

Juugo sat down in the chair, Karin sat on the chair's arm and Suigetsu made the point of sitting on the arm of the couch next to Sasuke. The message was loud and clear.

"I think honesty is very important when you are starting out on a new alliance. I won't touch you, but on your left shoulder, on your jacket I placed a small microphone."

Sasuke's right hand moved to his left shoulder as Suigetsu blew up.

"You what? How dare you do that shit to him? Hasn't he been through enough for you people you had to go and make it worse?"

"You act like you're different from the rest of them, but you're just as bad. You completely violated his privacy and then you want to come here and talk about honesty and an alliance. Get the hell out of here." Karin said.

At this point Sasuke found the small microphone and handed it over to Gaara. Sasuke's face was completely emotionless. Gaara placed the small microphone back into his pocket with the speaker.

"I didn't do this to be cruel or to cause any pain. If you would please allow me to explain myself I promise my intentions were good."

Gaara waited for someone to yell at him, but they all looked to Sasuke for guidance. They didn't want Sasuke to be hurt and Gaara respected that. When Sasuke didn't say anything Gaara took that as a sign to continue.

"Something seemed off about you. When the comments were made, before you would have beat the living hell out of those men. Now though, you didn't even comment. That was a drastic personality change that didn't sit right with me. You have no fire in your spirit or eyes like you used to. I understand what I did was wrong, but I needed to know the truth. Something was wrong now we know why. I had the others from Konoha and Tsunade listen to the conversation. I didn't know what it was going to be and I thought it would be good for them to at least know you weren't a spy. They all feel terrible, especially Kakashi he…"

"You said you wanted to speak about the war." Sasuke cut Gaara off before he could finish his thoughts on Kakashi.

"You mentioned about smaller villages being a part of a major slavery ring and that the seven nations were helping. I want to first say that the Sand has no part in that. Secondly, you were wrong I am more than willing to risk an alliance to help them. I have told Tsunade-San that until she proves that she had no part in any of that as well as you being sold to Orochimaru that our alliance is terminated. I also told her that if it did come back that Konoha's council has taken profit from the slavery that until the council is removed and a new one is elected I will not be in an alliance. Something needs to be done about these villages. I would like to see them for myself and take documentation. That way when this war is over we can then help them, if you would agree to showing me these villages."

"I can do that for you Kazekage-Sama."

"Thank-you. I want you to understand that I am not nor is Tsunade-San stopping you from leaving the village. She approves of your plan and she will have her ninja and the allies she has stay here in Konoha as a second defense. I would like to join you with my ninjas and fight with you. Your fellow comrades would also like to come and fight as well. That choice though, is entirely up to you Sasuke."

"I would appreciate the help from you and your ninja Kazekage-Sama. As for the others I need to think about it."

"That's fine. Are you leaving tonight?"

"Yes sir."

"At dusk?"

"It was going to be in the middle of the night, but now that we have the clear to go there's no need to wait that long. Dusk is fine."

"Then I shall meet you out front of the gates then. I'll send a message for my ninja to head to the location. Do you have coordinates for it?"

"One hundred and eighteen degrees north by two hundred and ten degrees east."

"I'll send a message out to them and they will meet us there. Thank-you Sasuke for letting the Sand be involved in this. I promise you once this war is over we will do something about the villages and end the slavery."

"I hope so."

"I'll leave you all to rest and get the messages out to the villages. If you need anything you know where to find me. If I don't hear from you then I will see you later at the gates."

Gaara got up and left the four of them in the living room to talk over what just happened. Sasuke didn't say anything he just turned back to the table to work on the messages once again. Karin was the one to start off the conversation.

"Sasuke are you sure it's a good idea to have Gaara coming with us? I know we talked about it, but that was before they were spying on us."

"We need the men, how can we say no to the Sand's ninja?" Juugo said.

"Because he was spying on us." Suigetsu said.

"But he didn't seem like he did it out of hatred." Juugo said.

"We can't trust him or them. So they heard our conversation that means they all know the truth now, but that doesn't change anything. Where are they now? They're not here apologizing their ass off to Sasuke. Where's the Hokage huh? They can't be trusted." Karin said.

"What do you think Sasuke?" Suigetsu said.

"I think Juugo has a point. How can we say no to ninja right now? The Sand has a thousand ninja. That's a thousand more that we didn't have. I don't trust them, but this war isn't about trust. We need the numbers."

"Fine, but they do anything to hurt you in any way they are gone." Suigetsu said.

"You three should go back to bed. You need rest for the travel."

"So do you Sasuke." Juugo said.

"I can't sleep. Go I'll be fine."

The three of them were reluctant, but they knew that nothing they said could make Sasuke sleep. So they decided they would sleep and get the energy they would need for the travel. Now that there was going to be a group of ninja traveling with them, they needed to be on alert. They were not going to let anyone hurt Sasuke, especially a Konoha ninja.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It was just after dusk and Sasuke and his squad were out front of Konoha's gates. They were waiting for Gaara and the others to show, but they didn't want to wait for much longer. They were out in the open and it was dangerous for Sasuke, because he couldn't fight and defend himself. Sasuke had his hood up and he was pacing around a very clear sign that he was nervous. They understood that he would be nervous. They didn't know what the others were going to be like or do. They were also waiting and they had yet to arrive. So at that point they didn't know if something was going to happen or not. To make matters worse Sasuke had gotten worse over the last six hours. Some days were good, but some days were bad. This happened to be turning into a bad day for Sasuke. After another ten minutes the group finally arrived.

"I'm sorry for the wait. It took a little longer for everyone to get their gear together then we expected." Gaara said.

"Sure it's not like we had anything better to do than wait around for people." Suigetsu said.

"Suigetsu" Sasuke warned.

"Sorry Sasuke."

"How are you feeling Sasuke?" Kakashi asked trying to show Sasuke that he did in fact care.

"Is everyone ready to go?" Sasuke asked completely ignoring Kakashi's question.

"We're ready." Shikamaru said.

"I sent out the message for the location. My ninjas will get the message tomorrow morning and then they will start to move out. It should be about a week before they reach the location." Gaara said.

"Location?" Sasuke whispered to himself.

They others heard him and they were confused, but Sasuke's squad knew what was happening. They could always tell when it was going to be a bad day. Sasuke started off alright in the morning, but over the course of the day, especially in the last six hours he had gotten worse. They needed to talk to the others so they wouldn't say anything to make it worse.

"The castle Sasuke." Juugo said softly.

"What's..." Naruto started, but was cut off by Karin.

"Shut up." Karin harshly whispered.

"The castle…right we have to go north. No we have to go south, we're too far north."

"The castle that was used in the first Shinobi War?" Kakashi asked.

"You know where it is?" Sasuke asked.

"I do. I've been there before when I was younger. We have to travel south for the next three days and then travel west for the remainder." Kakashi said.

They didn't know what was going on with Sasuke, but there was something going on with him. Kakashi didn't want to sound condescending so he kept the conversation as if they were just having a normal conversation; even if he was starting to get scared about Sasuke's condition.

"We should head out before it gets too dark out and we can't see." Karin said.

"Let's go." Sasuke said.

Sasuke started to walk and his squad went all around him to make sure he was safe. The rest of the group followed behind, but they gave them space so Sasuke wouldn't feel crowded. They remembered that part of their conversation about Sasuke having anxiety around groups of people.

"What was that?" Naruto whispered.

"He couldn't remember where we were going. Is that from the exhaustion?" Kiba asked softly.

"Exhaustion will make people forget things. We'll find out how bad it can get soon enough I'm sure." Sakura said.

"We need to speak with his squad to see what we should and shouldn't be doing around Sasuke." Gaara said.

"When we take a break we can speak with them." Kakashi said.

"What's this castle like? Have you seen the inside of it?" Gaara asked.

"I haven't seen it in close to sixteen years. When I saw it, the castle was in great shape. I think it's the perfect place to have this war. On the inside there are rooms, living quarters, multiple kitchens; it's very much like a small village inside. It's a smart move."

"Let's hope it's still in good condition when we get there." Gaara said.

"How long will it take for us to reach it?" Ino asked.

"Roughly five days, but in Sasuke's condition I'm not sure how long he'll be able to travel. It might take six or seven days to reach it." Kakashi said.

"We need to make sure Sasuke doesn't push his body." Sakura said.

"I'm sure his squad will be all over Sasuke's health." Shikamaru said.

"I still can't believe all of this happened." Naruto said.

"I need to figure out how to apologize for what I said to him in the arena." Kiba said.

"I'm not sure they will let you get close enough to do that." Neji said.

"The three of them will be on edge around us and will keep a close eye on us. Just be patient and don't start any fights. Also keep an eye out for any enemies. Sasuke is not in any condition to fight." Kakashi said.

The others nodded and they knew that this situation was very much real. They had to get their heads in the game. This was a war and they needed to focus and make sure they made it to the castle safe and uninjured. It was reaching eight o'clock and they had been traveling for three hours straight now. Three hours straight was about all Sasuke's lungs could handle at any given time. So his squad had slowed to a stop and Sasuke stopped with them. The others behind them stopped as well, but no one said anything. Sasuke started coughing and they all could see him having a hard time breathing. It was dark out, but not so dark that you couldn't make out what was going on. Juugo and Suigetsu stood by Sasuke as he tried to get his breath back as Karin walked over to the group.

"He needs about fifteen minutes to get his breathing back to normal. He can only travel about three hours at a time without a break."

"He needs to be healed. The pneumonia will make his breathing worse. He might have lung damage. I could heal him and he could breathe better." Sakura said.

"Good luck with that. He won't let anyone touch him or let a medic come anywhere close enough to touch him. Why the hell are you people here anyways? Haven't you caused him enough pain?"

"We're not here to cause him pain." Kakashi said.

"We didn't know." Naruto said.

"Oh you didn't know? That makes it all better. Who cares what he went through; after all you didn't know it was a clone you were standing beside. It's not like you didn't fight beside him for almost a year. How could you possibly have known that wasn't Sasuke? Do you not realise the fact that you couldn't tell the difference between him and a clone doesn't make it all better. It makes it worse. You claimed to know him so well that you couldn't even tell the difference. You spewed all this crap about caring and being a family yet you all thought the worst of him. You couldn't even tell the difference from him and a clone. Why wouldn't he believe that everything you all said was a lie? The best thing you can do for him would be to leave him the hell alone."

Karin went to walk away when Kakashi spoke.

"Karin wait."

Karin turned around to look at him and he could tell she wasn't happy about any of this.

"What?" Karin snapped.

"I'm not going to stand here and try to make excuses for what happened. You're right I should have noticed the difference. I was the Jounin, I was the experienced ninja I should have seen the difference. It's a mistake that I will regret for the rest of my life. Right now though, this is about Sasuke and I would really like to know what triggers him so we don't make him worse by mistake."

Karin let out a huff and she looked over at Sasuke who was trying to get a deep breath. She turned her attention back to the group.

"He won't talk about his injuries. Even if you ask how he is doing he'll change the subject. Sometimes he answers for us, but most of the time he won't. He has a lot of injuries that you don't see right now, because of the jacket. When you see them don't react or make a deal out of it. He knows they're there; he doesn't need anyone to remind him of it. Don't give him a lecture about sleeping, because it won't change the fact that he won't sleep. Don't crowd him. He has anxiety and he will have a panic attack if he's around too many people for too long. Don't yell at him or in general. I cannot stress enough, do not touch him ever. If you need to touch him then tell him what you are going to do and make sure he's okay with it. Don't do something without him knowing you're doing it. He has bad days and there are a lot more bad days than good days. If he asks you a question and you answer, than five minutes later he asks you again. Don't point out that he already asked, just answer the question again and let it go. He's only been out of the Sound for five days. All of this is new to him and hard to handle don't make it worse."

"We don't want to make it worse for him. Thank-you for telling us about this. Now that we know we can do our part to make sure we don't trigger anything." Kakashi said.

Juugo came over to them and Karin turned her attention to him.

"How is he?"

"He's having a lot of trouble breathing. We traveled all night last night and all day today except for six hours. He's at his limit. I think we should set up here for the night and continue tomorrow. His lungs need a break."

"His lungs need to be healed." Karin said.

"He won't you know that." Juugo responded.

"How bad is his breathing?" Karin asked.

"He can't get a deep breath and his lips have a slight blue tint to them again. His breath is wheezy he can't do anymore tonight. Like I said we've been traveling for over thirty hours in the last forty-eight." Juugo answered.

"He wasn't supposed to be traveling this much. We thought we would get a few days in Konoha for him to recover. He gets worse at night with the pneumonia and the pain gets worse." Karin said.

"He has to be in an extreme amount of pain, but he won't let on to it." Juugo said.

Karin turned her attention to the group as she spoke.

"You can continue on we'll meet up with you at the castle."

"We're not in any hurry. Sasuke needs to stop then we'll stop it's that simple." Kakashi said.

"There are sixteen of you. That's a lot of people for Sasuke to constantly be around. We can't make you leave, but if you stay don't crowd him. Just leave him alone and let him get through the night. Night time is always the hardest for him, he gets flashbacks, he's in pain and he gets sicker. If you are going to stay just leave him alone." Juugo said.

"We don't want to make him worse. We just want to be here in case something happens. That's all." Kakashi said.

"I'll go tell him we're staying here." Juugo said.

"I'll start to set up the camp." Karin said.

"We will set up our camp over there to give Sasuke enough room so he doesn't feel trapped." Gaara said as he pointed to a spot far enough away from Sasuke.

"Just because the three of us are sleeping, doesn't mean we can't sense anything. If anyone tries anything we will know it and stop it." Karin said as she walked away.

"You can't make up for what you did in one day. He might never trust you again. You all have to understand and accept that if you want to be around him." Juugo said as he walked away to be by Sasuke.

The rest of them gave Sasuke some space and started to set up their own camp. The girls were sharing a tent and the others were divided up into three in each tent. Once the camps were set up Sasuke was sitting with his back against a tree away from everyone even his own squad. His squad gave him the space and they didn't pressure him to talk or to eat. Kakashi knew they had good intentions, but he also couldn't help, but feel the parental instincts in him. He wanted to go over there and get Sasuke to eat, because it was what he needed to do. Sasuke had only been out of the Sound for five days. This was all brand new to him and it was only going to get worse before it got better. They all had small conversations going on between the groups, but Kakashi kept his eyes on Sasuke. He could see Sasuke shaking and he knew that he had a fever. Sasuke needed to be healed, but Kakashi couldn't make him. He wished he could just sedate Sasuke and let him get healed and some sleep, but he couldn't start off trying to rebuild the trust that way. Kakashi was hoping that once everyone was asleep he could go over and sit with Sasuke and talk. He didn't want Sasuke to think that everything he told him was empty words, because they weren't. Kakashi genuinely cared about Sasuke and that hadn't changed over the years that had passed. Everything in his body was screaming with regret and it didn't matter if it took the rest of his life he was going to make this up to Sasuke.

It was well past ten o'clock by the time everyone turned in. Sasuke stayed where he was. Kakashi gave it another thirty minutes before he went over to Sasuke, who was still shivering. Kakashi sat down beside him, but not too close to make Sasuke feel uncomfortable. Kakashi didn't say anything he just wanted Sasuke to know that he wasn't alone. Sasuke was sitting with his back against the tree and his legs up to his chest with his arms crossed over his chest. Kakashi could see him shaking and he knew it was from a fever and not the warm night air. Kakashi just wanted to wrap his arms around Sasuke and hold him close to his chest. It was five minutes later when Sasuke spoke.

"What do you want?" Sasuke voice was weak and full of pain.

Kakashi could hear the pain and how sick Sasuke was in his voice in the quiet night.

"I want to help you in this war. I want to be able to take back the last three and a half years. I want to be able to take your pain away and make you healthy. More than anything I want to go back and realize that it was a clone and not you. What I really want to do right now though, is to pull you into my arms and hold on to you until you feel ready to face the world. I can't do any of that right now though, so I'm settling for sitting here so you remember you are not alone anymore. I know it might not mean much right now, but you are safe and I don't care if I have to tell you that every day, every hour, I will until you believe it." Kakashi whispered back.

Sasuke didn't say anything for a good ten minutes and Kakashi let him have that time to think over what Kakashi had said. Kakashi knew that Sasuke was fighting with his mind on whether or not he should believe him. Kakashi was letting him have all the time he needed.

"I waited for you." Sasuke said softly with raw emotion in his voice that broke Kakashi's heart.

"I'm so sorry I didn't come. Sasuke everything I ever told you I meant. It was the truth. I said those things; because I care it wasn't because of some job. I should have known you wouldn't have left. I should have known it was a clone. If I had known I wouldn't have stopped until I got you out. It's a mistake I'll always regret."

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"I'm not lying Sasuke. What would be the point of it? This war is going to happen whether we get along or not. So there really isn't a point in lying and trying to make you believe something untruthful. All you have to do is listen to your heart. It'll tell you the truth."

Sasuke was quiet again for a long time. It was nearly a half an hour before he spoke softly once again. Even though it was dark Kakashi could see the pain and exhaustion on his face. Sasuke needed some sleep, but Kakashi didn't know if he would be able to get him to.

"Everything hurts. I don't feel good."

"You have a fever. You shouldn't even be wearing that jacket. Your fever needs to come down; the warm wind will help with that. I have no idea of the pain you are in. I don't know what your injuries are. I wish there was something I could do or say that would make you get checked out by Sakura. She might be able to make your pneumonia go away and take some of that pain away."

"I don't like doctors."

"I know. I know. You need sleep Sasuke."

"It's not safe to sleep. Things happen when you sleep." Kakashi could hear the break in Sasuke's voice and he knew that Sasuke was struggling with a memory.

"As long as it has been in my power I have always kept you safe. I'm right here, no one is going to hurt you or touch you. You need sleep Sasuke. Your body is screaming for it; just give in for a few hours."

"I can't. I want to, but it's not that simple."

"Okay, what happens when you try to sleep? What makes it difficult for you?"

"The memories. Every time I close my eyes I see things, things I don't want to see again. When I first close my eyes and try to sleep I feel panic and it makes it hard to breathe for a little while. Sometimes I can get past it, but most of the times I can't."

"So you have an anxiety attack. Why the anxiety?"

"He used to wait for me to fall asleep before he would do things. It doesn't matter if I'm alone the anxiety comes and I can't get my mind to listen to me. Even if I know he can't do anything my mind thinks otherwise."

"It's understandable that you would be having anxiety after everything that happened to you in the past three and a half years. The best way to deal with anxiety is to work through it and talk through it. When you feel anxious about something then it's important to talk about it, so the next time when you are in the same situation the anxiety will decrease. The most important one we need to work on is sleeping."

"How though?"

"We talk through the anxiety; we can talk through the memories and nightmares when they happen. I know talking about things like this is extremely hard, but it's also extremely important."

"I don't want to talk about any of it, but I'm so tired so I guess I can try."

"All I ask is that you try. I'm going to go grab a blanket; you need to take that jacket off. You're fever is getting to be too high and we need to get it down. The warm wind will help bring it down. I know you're cold, but we need to get the fever down. So I'll grab a blanket to help keep you warm, but you won't be too warm to increase your fever. Okay?"

Sasuke gave a small nod, "Okay"

"I'll be right back."

Kakashi got up and headed over to his tent to grab his blanket. As he walked by Sasuke's squad's tent he could see them looking at him from the open flap. Kakashi didn't say anything and they didn't either. Kakashi knew that if they felt any distress in Sasuke they would have come over to stop the conversation. Kakashi grabbed his blanket and headed over to Sasuke to see him undoing his jacket. Kakashi sat down beside him once again and could see that Sasuke was having a hard time getting out of his jacket. Kakashi could see the level of pain that Sasuke was in and he was getting worried. They didn't know what kind of injuries that Sasuke had, but Kakashi had a feeling he was going to get a better idea once that jacket came off.

"I'm only going to grab your jacket to help you. I'm not going to touch anything, but the jacket okay?"

Sasuke gave a nod. He knew it was going to hurt to take it off his arms and he was glad that Kakashi had understood the need to ask him before doing it. Kakashi grabbed the back of Sasuke's jacket and helped him get his arms out. It was dark outside, but with the moonlight Kakashi could make out all the ugly bruises and marks all over Sasuke's arms and his neck. Both of his arms were covered in dark, painful bruises, cuts, burns, and old scars. His neck was bruised, raw and was covered in scars that went all around it. Kakashi knew what that was from; Sasuke had a collar on for the last three and a half years and now there was scar tissue on his neck. The scars on his neck would always be there and because he was so pale they would always be noticed. Kakashi knew he had to act like it didn't bother him, even when everything in him was screaming to go kill someone. Kakashi didn't know how anyone could harm Sasuke. He was such a sweet soul. He never showed it much, but Kakashi could see what was underneath the tough exterior. He didn't deserve any of this and Kakashi was going to get him through all of this.

"It's cold."

"I know that's from the fever. Lie down and I'll put the blanket on your lower half. You need your upper half to get cooled down by the wind."

"Is it okay if I put my head on your leg?" Sasuke asked with his head down in a submissive position.

"Of course you can. You never have to ask." Kakashi said gently.

Sasuke gently laid down and placed his head on Kakashi's thigh. Sasuke wasn't used to human contact or comfort, but with Kakashi he felt safe on some level. Kakashi placed the blanket over Sasuke's lower half and kept the upper part of his body uncovered so it could be cooled by the wind. Kakashi noticed that Sasuke weighed maybe eighty pounds if he was lucky. Kakashi needed to get Sasuke back into perfect health or as close to perfect health as possible for Sasuke.

"How bad is the pain?"

"About a seven. It gets bad at night from moving all day."

"What hurts the most usually?"

"My lungs usually, some days my neck hurts pretty bad."

"From the collar?"

"Partly."

"Can I ask what the other part is from to cause the pain?"

"I don't talk about this."

Kakashi could tell that Sasuke was uncomfortable with this conversation, but he needed to know the level of damage.

"I know you don't and I know this isn't an easy subject to talk about. It's important that you talk about it though so I know how much pain you are in. I promise we only have to do this once."

Sasuke was quiet for a few minutes before he spoke very softly, barely above a whisper.

"He broke my neck at one point. I don't think it healed properly."

Kakashi closed his eyes for a second to try and get his anger in check. Kakashi didn't know how sensitive Sasuke was to emotions and he didn't want to make Sasuke scared of him.

"How often does it hurt?"

"Every day. I'm used to the pain. It was hard at first to get used to the room. I'm not sure it even counts as a room. It was so small I couldn't stretch my body out or even sit up straight. There were holes in one of the walls so I could get air. Sometimes if he was mad he would block the holes so I couldn't breathe that well. I got used to it. Now I don't remember what it's like to not be in pain all day. Being out here there's so much air that sometimes it's suffocating. I don't think I'll ever get used to this."

"It's hard to go from one thing and then have to go to something completely opposite. You have gotten used to being in a small space and now you are in this huge world again. It's natural for you to be feeling overwhelmed and anxious about all of this. The best thing you can do is just take it one day at a time. In time you will be used to being in this world again and it won't seem so hard. Do any of your other bones hurt?"

"Everything hurts all the time. Some days my back will hurt a lot to the point where I can't move. That hasn't happened in the last couple of weeks though."

"Has your back ever been broken?"

"Nine times. There isn't a bone in my body that hasn't been broken at least three times; with the exception of my neck."

"What happened when you had your back broken? Where were you kept?"

"In the room."

"But you couldn't lie flat."

"He didn't care. Kabuto could have healed me, but Orochimaru only let him when I was too close to death. He liked breaking my back, because I couldn't move without extreme pain so he could do what he wanted."

"Did he ever…"

"Five times a day some days more. Please I can't talk about this." Sasuke said in a broken voice.

"Okay I'm sorry we don't have to talk about that until you are ready. What would you like to talk about? We can talk about anything you want."

"I don't know. I haven't said more than twenty words in the last three and a half years. I know I should remember how to have a conversation, but unless it's about this war I really don't know what to say."

"How about I talk and you close your eyes and try and sleep?"

"What if I can't sleep?" Sasuke asked with a slight fear in his voice.

"Then that's okay. There's no pressure to sleep. If you can't do it then you can't do it and we can try another night. Nothing bad will happen if you sleep and nothing bad will happen if you don't sleep."

"Will you wake me up when the others start to wake up?"

"If that's what you want then I will."

"Promise?"

"I promise Sasuke. Now close your eyes and just listen to my voice. If you feel anxious then let me know and we can work through it."

Sasuke took a deep breath, as much as a deep breath as his lungs would allow, and he closed his eyes and just listened to Kakashi talking. Kakashi guessed that it was well after midnight and he knew that it would take a while before Sasuke was asleep, assuming he even would sleep. There were a few times in the course of the night that Sasuke had some anxiety, but Kakashi was able to talk him down and got Sasuke to focus on the fact that he wasn't in the Sound. Kakashi found that Sasuke just needed a reminder that he was safe and he was able to stop the anxiety attack. It was a rough night from nightmares, but finally at four in the morning Sasuke had slept for a good hour without any problems. Kakashi knew it would take more than one night to get Sasuke back on track with sleeping, but at least tonight he was open to try. It was just after seven in the morning when everyone started to wake up. Sasuke's squad came out of their tent and saw that Sasuke was asleep. The shocked looks didn't go unnoticed by Kakashi. Naruto and the rest of the group were heading over to them when Sasuke's squad stopped them.

"Don't if he senses too many people he'll wake up." Karin said.

Karin and the other two went over closer to Kakashi while the others stood back and saw the injuries all over Sasuke's body that they could see. They couldn't believe how badly beat up both his arms and neck were. He looked horrible and they knew underneath the rest of his clothing was just as bad or even worse. Karin softly whispered so she wouldn't wake Sasuke up.

"What did you do to get him to sleep?"

"Nothing we just talked."

"Talked about what?" Suigetsu asked.

"A lot of things. I told him he was safe and that I was here to protect him. We talked about anxieties and how to get past them. We talked about some of his pain and broken bones. I had him take his jacket off to help lower his fever. He asked to lay on my leg and I talked to him about nothing until he fell asleep. He woke up a few times from nightmares and we talked through it. About three hours ago he finally stayed asleep."

"This is unbelievable. He hasn't slept in well over three years and in one night you have gotten him to not only sleep, but to talk about what happened and to touch you. He doesn't do this." Karin said.

"The level of trust must still be there from before he was taken. He must feel completely safe with you for him to even think about sleeping. This is amazing." Juugo said.

"We should let him sleep. The others can go on ahead and we can meet up with them." Suigetsu said.

"I promised him I would wake him up once everyone started to get up. I can't start breaking promises no matter how much I want him to sleep." Kakashi said.

"Seriously? He needs sleep." Suigetsu said.

"Kakashi is right. Sasuke trusts Kakashi enough to fall asleep, peaceful or not. We shouldn't jeopardize that. Why don't you wake him up and the rest of us can look busy." Juugo said.

"You seem to be the Sasuke whisperer so while you're at it, see if you can get him to eat something. We haven't been able to do that so far." Karin said.

"When was the last time he ate?" Kakashi asked.

"Knowing Orochimaru he was feed once every three weeks. So it could be anywhere from five days to almost three weeks." Karin explained.

"I'll try."

The others walked away to join the group of ninja.

"Don't stare just go about your normal business. Kakashi is going to wake him up." Karin said.

"We should be letting him sleep." Naruto said.

"Sasuke asked for Kakashi to promise to wake him when everyone started to wake up." Juugo explained.

"So?" Naruto said.

"Kakashi doesn't want to break that promise and possibly break the trust Sasuke has in him." Shikamaru said.

"He needs to be sleeping." Sakura said.

"But now we know Kakashi can get him to sleep and that's more than we had last night." Gaara said.

"Come on let's get our things together and get something to eat. Leave them alone and don't say anything about this." Gai said.

"Or his injuries." Karin reminded.

Sasuke's squad walked off to start to collect their things. The others started to clean up and get some food going for breakfast before they headed out for the day. Kakashi looked down at Sasuke's battered sleeping face. He really didn't want to wake him up, but he knew he had to or he risked losing some of Sasuke's trust. Kakashi made sure he didn't touch Sasuke as he called his name softly to wake him up.

"Sasuke"

He didn't even move. Kakashi knew that his body was exhausted and if he could he really would have just sat there all day and let him sleep. The problem was Sasuke wanted to be up and moving and he didn't want to be around so many people asleep just yet. Kakashi could understand that, even if he didn't like it so he called Sasuke's name a little louder.

"Sasuke come it's time to get up."

That got Sasuke to stir as he slowly opened his eyes to the bright sunlight. Kakashi could see the confusion in his eyes followed by the realisation a few moments later.

"Good morning. How are you feeling?"

"How am I more tired after sleeping then I was before?" Sasuke's voice was hoarse and weak. Kakashi was starting to wonder if the collar caused damage to his vocal cords.

"Because now your body remembers what sleep feels like and it wants more."

"Hm" Sasuke had his eyes closed again.

"You don't have to get up you know. We can have the others go on ahead and you can sleep the whole day away if you want."

That got Sasuke's attention and his eyes opened and scanned the area.

"We have to get to the location. Others will be closer to it than us and some might be waiting."

"Okay. How about some food?"

"I'm not hungry."

"When was the last time you ate?"

"The last time I was allowed."

"How long ago was that?"

"I don't know. I'm not good with days."

"That's okay you don't have to eat right now, but at some point today I would really like you to. You need to start getting used to eating everyday again."

"What day is it?"

"It's Wednesday August 12th. Why?"

"Couldn't remember."

Sasuke pushed up slowly and Kakashi could see the pain all over his face. The ground was nowhere near soft enough for Sasuke's battered body.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm just sore. Can I put the jacket back on now?"

"If you're fever isn't too high. Is it okay if I touch your forehead to check?"

Kakashi could see that, that request made Sasuke a little uncomfortable. Kakashi didn't know if it was, because Sasuke was like this in the morning or if it was the act itself. Regardless Sasuke gave a small nod. Kakashi gently placed his hand on Sasuke's forehead and did his best to ignore the flinch. After a few seconds he removed it and gave Sasuke a smile even if he couldn't see it.

"You're fever is gone. That's good."

"So I can put the jacket on?"

"Absolutely. Do you need any help?"

"I'm okay"

Kakashi handed Sasuke his jacket and watched as he slowly put it on. Kakashi could see the pain all over his face and he so desperately wanted to take the pain away. If it was possible Kakashi would have traded places with Sasuke in a heartbeat. He would have done anything to take away Sasuke's pain, even give it to himself. Once Sasuke had the jacket on he sat up and leaned against the tree once again. He saw Sasuke look over to the others and Kakashi knew he was debating about going over or not.

"Why don't we go over there and see what the game plan is for today."

Kakashi knew it was a lame excuse, but he could see that Sasuke wanted to be by his squad where he felt safe. Sasuke gave a nod to that and slowly got up. Kakashi stood and waited for Sasuke to get a good standing before they started to walk over there. Sasuke went to where his squad was and Kakashi stood off to the side. He didn't want to over crowd Sasuke, especially with the way he was acting right now. Sasuke seemed to be more disorientated and out of it this morning. Kakashi didn't know if there was another reason or if it was just from the lack of sleep.

"You guys okay?" Sasuke asked his squad.

"We're good. You?" Suigetsu said.

"Mhm"

"So what's the plan for today?" Naruto asked loudly.

"We're traveling. What do you think the plan is dumbass?" Kiba said.

"How the hell should I know? I didn't know if there was something else we had to do along the way. Maybe we had to meet up with more ninja." Naruto said loudly.

"Why is he yelling?" Sasuke asked his squad with confusion. The others could hear him though, and that got their attention.

"He talks loudly remember Sasuke?" Kakashi said.

"No" Sasuke said confused.

"How did you guys sleep?" Karin asked the others before anyone could comment on what Sasuke just said.

They all could see the concern and confusion on their face as Sasuke couldn't remember something so well known. Naruto was loud everyone knew that, for Sasuke to not remember was just weird.

"Not bad. We're all used to sleeping outside." Gaara said.

"What did you tell your parents?" Juugo asked.

"I don't know about these guys, but I told my parents I was going on a mission for Tsunade-Sama." Ino said.

"I told mine that I was going to the Sand for a little while to help the village." Sakura said.

"Mine didn't ask." Neji said.

"I went with Ino and said I was going on a mission for a while." Tenten said.

"Same here." Chouji said.

"You shouldn't lie to your parents, but this is a serious situation so I choose to tell mine that I had to go on a mission. That I wouldn't be back for a few months and to not worry." Lee said.

"So basically you all just said the same thing." Suigetsu said.

"Basically." Shikamaru said. "We didn't think it would be a good idea to tell our parents the truth. Konoha needs to trust Tsunade-Sama and they might not if they found out we were fighting this war someplace else."

"Kazekage-Sama did you send out the message to your ninja?" Sasuke asked.

Sasuke's squad was praying that no one would comment about him hearing that answer yesterday. The three of them knew that today was going to be a horrible day for Sasuke's mind and they didn't want it to be made worse by the other's questions. Thankfully Gaara didn't miss a beat.

"I did and they will be meeting us there. They won't reach the castle for at least six or seven days from now."

"How many ninja do you have?" Sasuke asked.

"Just over a thousand will be there. There will be a few to stay in the Sand just in case something happens. I can't leave my villagers unprotected."

"Sasuke, what about the villages?" Temari asked.

"What villages?"

"The villages that are refusing to fight for the seven nations." Temari answered.

"I sent out messages to them." Sasuke sounded confused and he looked over to his squad.

Juugo gave a nod to show that he did in fact send out the messages.

"You said that they were full of slavery." Shikamaru said trying to get Sasuke on the same page.

"They are that's why they won't fight for the seven nations."

"How many of them have child slavery in them?" Kakashi asked.

"Almost all of them. The ones that don't are overrun by drug lords."

"And the seven nations have a part in all of it?" Shino asked.

"They do in different ways. Konoha takes a profit in order to look the other way. The Mist provides orphan children from the village. The lightening provides the drug lord's drugs and contacts to continue to sell for a take of the profit. The rock village provides the enforcement for when the village's ninja try to take the village back. The rock village will send in their army and take out any ninja that try to fight back."

"Has there ever been any Sand activity?" Gaara asked.

"Not since you have taken over. I can't say about before that. You would have to check that out with your council Kazekage-Sama."

"We should check that out. If the Sand had at one point in history worked with this type of activity we need to try and wrong that right." Kankurou said.

"It would also look bad for the Sand if it ever came out that you knew about it and did nothing." Temari said.

"Are you sure Konoha is involved in this?" Naruto asked.

"Danzou goes to the villages every six months to check on progress. When they need new children and the mist isn't able to provide. Danzou has a squad of ANBU go out and kill the parents and take the children. Even infants they will bring to the village and once they turn three they go into the slavery."

"Till how old?" Kiba asked.

"Sixteen."

"What happens when they reach that age?" Sakura asked.

"Depends. A child can be sold for an hour, a night or permanently to one person. If they were sold out to someone permanently they might live longer if they don't fight their owner. When the owner decides that the child is too old the child will be killed. If they haven't been sold permanently then once they turn sixteen they are killed."

"God" Ino said.

"Most don't make it to sixteen. They are kept outside chained to a metal pole all in a line. It doesn't matter if it's a hundred degree heat or minus forty, rain or snow they stay there. They are feed once every three weeks and given water once every three days. Some villages are more extreme than others it depends on who runs the slavery ring in that village."

"We travel through one of the villages. It's an hour from here you all can see for yourselves." Karin said.

"They don't care to hide them when ninja from another village walk through?" Kakashi asked.

"Why would they? This has been going on for close to ten years. No one has done anything to stop it and the only villages that could all have their hands in it." Sasuke said.

"This really is something that I need to see for myself." Gaara said.

"You want him to trust you, but you don't trust him." Suigetsu said.

"I trust Sasuke. This isn't about trust this is about the need to see it with my own eyes. I need to understand how server this situation is and the only way to do that is to see it for myself." Gaara explained.

"I understand. Did you send a message out to your ninja Kazekage-Sama?" Sasuke asked.

"I did they will meet us there in roughly six to seven days."

"We should get packing up so we can head out." Karin said.

"Sasuke, why don't you come with me to get some water? The walking will help unstiffen you." Suigetsu said.

Sasuke gave a nod and walked off with Suigetsu to the stream they found last night. They all waited until Sasuke was far enough away before they started to talk.

"That's not from the exhaustion is it?" Naruto asked.

"No, it's from brain damage." Kakashi said sadly.

"He's never going to be able to be a ninja again. You can't risk him being like this in the field or in battle." Sakura said.

"Realistically I don't think Sasuke was ever going to be a ninja again." Kiba said.

"Is he going to be like this every day? He wasn't this bad yesterday." Naruto said.

"I don't know." Kakashi said, "Karin, Juugo"

Karin and Juugo came over to them. They knew they would have questions, but they really didn't have any answers for them.

"Is he always like this?" Kakashi asked.

"Look Sasuke has good days, bad days and horrible days. That works for his mind and his body. On the good days he doesn't have any problems with memory and he's not in a lot of pain. On the bad days he can either be in pain, his mind isn't all there or both. On horrible days he can either be in so much pain he can't move or he's like this where he can't really focus and his mind just isn't there. Today is a horrible day for his mind and a bad day for his body. His mind will get worse as the day goes on, so don't comment on it just ignore it. He can't make it better and pointing it out only makes it worse."

"He has brain damage you must see that." Kakashi said.

"We know he does." Karin said.

"You should get him to let me look at him. I might be able to heal him." Sakura said.

"He won't let you. Maybe Itachi will be able to convince him, but until Itachi shows up he won't let you. You can't heal the damage done to his brain. Sasuke has been beaten into a coma multiple times. To be honest, I'm surprised he even knows his own name." Juugo said.

"Are there things that he has the most problems with?" Gaara asked.

"Days. He can't ever remember what day it is. Sometimes he can't remember words, even basic ones. If you have a long conversation on a bad day he might remember half of it an hour later. On the horrible days like today, don't get into any serious conversations or tell him anything that you need him to remember, because he won't. Don't ever say 'remember' or 'do you remember' that will only confuse and upset him, because nine out of ten times he won't remember. We don't know just how bad the damage is or what he remembers before he was in the Sound. Today is day six of him being out; we really don't know everything that is wrong with him." Karin said.

"So what do we do?" Naruto asked.

"You treat him like you always have. Don't treat him like he's dumb, because he's not. He just has some memory issues. If he asks you the same question just answer it like before. Today is a horrible day; tomorrow he could be perfectly fine. It changes every day and there isn't anything routine about it. Don't point it out or make fun of him for it. If he is stressed out it will get worse so be prepared, because by the end of the day it will get worse." Karin said.

"Is there anything we can do that can make it better?" Kakashi asked.

"We haven't found anything out yet." Juugo said.

"He seems to really feel safe around you. Maybe you'll be able to find something that works to help. All we know is don't ask him any important questions today. Just let him be. With his lungs every three hours we need to stop and let him get his breath back. After the first three hours we'll know how bad the pain is today." Karin said.

"We can take this as slow as he needs to go." Kakashi said.

"Maybe he would be better if there weren't so many of us." Neji said.

"Why don't we see how he is today and if he seems to be too overwhelmed then we can split up." Kakashi said.

"I know where this castle is so I can always take a group with me while you stay with Sasuke." Gai said.

"He's not used to being around this many people. He had a problem with the three of us for the first couple of days. Sixteen people to us is not a lot, but to him that's huge." Karin said.

"How bad is he going to be around the army that's on the way?" Kiba asked.

"He's going to be hiding a lot." Juugo said.

"I think it's important when we get to the castle to find a room that Sasuke is comfortable in. That way when he can't handle being around everyone he can be in his room." Kakashi said.

"You do know that a room he feels comfortable in will be small and have no bed in it." Karin said.

"He won't sleep in a bed?" Naruto asked.

"He hasn't in three and a half years." Juugo said.

"Not to mention the only times he was in a bed was when Orochimaru had him." Karin said.

"Had him?" Lee asked.

"You're old enough to figure it out." Karin said rudely.

"Sasuke seeing a bed will give him a panic attack." Juugo said.

"That is something important to work on." Kakashi said more to himself.

"Are you trying to prioritize his problems?" Karin asked.

"Yes actually. Sleeping is the most important, followed by getting healed and now sleeping in a bed. He needs to slowly start to eat once a day and drink water every day. If you try and fix all of his problems at the same time nothing is ever going to get fixed. I need to work on the major problems first and then work on the smaller ones afterwards." Kakashi said.

"Assuming Itachi lets you." Karin said.

"Have you spoken to him?" Kakashi asked.

"Not since he showed up and killed Orochimaru." Juugo said.

"Killed? He left him in a puddle of blood and body parts. He didn't just kill Orochimaru he cut him up into a hundred pieces. Part of them was when he was still alive." Karin said.

"Itachi has always been protective of Sasuke." Kakashi said.

"Did anyone message him to inform him of where Sasuke will be?" Gaara asked.

"No we should do that though. If Itachi comes to Konoha and doesn't find Sasuke he's going to be pissed." Karin said.

"You need to send a message to him and tell him of the situation going on." Shikamaru said.

"Sasuke should write the message, but I don't think he can focus long enough to do that." Karin said.

"I'll write the message and explain." Kakashi said.

"If you tell him that Konoha is around Sasuke he's going to show up." Karin said.

"I know, but he needs to know the truth and I need to talk to him." Kakashi said.

"Write the message and I'll have my birds deliver it." Juugo said.

"Let's get our things together so when Sasuke and Suigetsu come back we can head out." Gaara said.

The group went about their business and Kakashi went about writing the message to Itachi. He knew that Itachi would be upset about what happened between Sasuke and Konoha. He wasn't going to be able to tell Itachi the whole story in the message, but he would explain what he knew once Itachi arrived. Kakashi was also curious as to how Itachi came to find out that Sasuke was in the Sound. Kakashi knew that Itachi could find Sasuke anywhere in this world. The bond they shared was strong and Kakashi knew they would be seeing Itachi by the end of the day. Once Kakashi was finished writing the message Juugo sent it away with one of his birds just as Sasuke and Suigetsu arrived back. They were all ready and set to go. Kakashi could see that Sasuke was in pain and he had a feeling it was going to be a bad day for him.

"We all set?" Suigetsu asked.

"We're ready when you are." Naruto said.

Sasuke was out of it and Kakashi could see that he was having trouble getting his mind to focus on one thing at a time. Kakashi was really starting to wonder if all of them were making him worse. Kakashi was going to see how today went and if the group was making Sasuke worse he would have them continue on. Kakashi was also hoping he could talk to Itachi about it all. Itachi knew Sasuke and he might have some better ideas about how to handle Sasuke.

"We're going south right?" Sasuke asked.

Suigetsu just gave a nod.

"We're going to go through the village to show them the slavery." Juugo said.

"Right. We ready to go?"

"Ready when you are." Kakashi said.

"Let's go then."

They all took off in the direction of the village. Just like yesterday the group kept back from Sasuke and his squad to give him some space. They only had about an hour travel before they would reach the village, which is good, because then Sasuke only had to go an hour without a break. It would give Kakashi a better idea of the level of pain he was in today. Kakashi couldn't believe how bad Sasuke's mind was today and he was really going to try and push Sasuke to get healed by Sakura. They needed to know how bad the brain damage was and what other permanent injuries he had. They had arrived at the village just over an hour later and Kakashi could see that Sasuke was already having a hard time breathing. Kakashi went up to Sasuke.

"Are you alright?"

"What?" Sasuke asked slightly dazed.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest and Kakashi could tell that he was starting to get a fever again. He really needed a strong anti-biotic, but Kakashi doubted he would be able to ever get Sasuke to take anything. Kakashi checked to see where Sasuke's squad was and they were standing back to give Kakashi and Sasuke a minute.

"I sent a message out to Itachi to tell him that you will be at the castle and that we were with you. I didn't want him to come looking for you in Konoha and you not be there."

"He knows where I am. He always knows where I am as long as I'm not in a base."

"In one of the Sound's bases?"

"They had chakra blockers so he couldn't find me. He found my chakra when we were switching locations and he was close by. That's how he found me."

"Okay. I just wanted to make sure he knew where you were."

"He's going to come. He won't like Konoha ninja around me."

"I figured as much, but that's okay I will speak with him and explain the whole situation. You should take that jacket off. Your fever is coming back."

"I don't like to take it off."

"Why not?"

"It was Itachi's from when he was my age. It feels like he's here with me."

"That's understandable. However, when your fever gets too high like last night I'm going to need you to take it off deal?"

"Okay"

"You ready to go?"

"Go where?" Sasuke asked with confusion.

"Into the village." Kakashi said gentle.

"What village?"

"This village. We're going to walk through and see if we can see any of the child slavery activity."

"Okay."

"Okay come on."

Kakashi and Sasuke walked over to the rest of the group and they all headed inside the village. They didn't have to walk very far before they started to see the signs of poverty and slavery. There were rundown buildings, homeless people all over the streets, and drug dealers were making deals out in the open. They saw a man in the age range of fifty with a three year old on a leash walking down the street.

"He's a slave and the man is either his owner or he bought him for some time. He can either take him back home or into an alley. Depends on what he wants and how much he paid." Sasuke said.

"He's like three." Ino said.

"They don't care. The ones that do have the power in this village are too afraid to do anything. The ones that try and stop this and make the village better get killed and if they have children they will take the children and put them into the slavery. The nations that are strong enough to stop this are the ones making sure it keeps going. As long as they get a good profit from it they don't care."

They stopped in front of an alley and they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Ino, Tenten and Sakura instantly had tears in their eyes at the sight. There were thirty young, small boys handcuffed to a metal pole. All were wearing old worn out pants or shorts, no shirt, a collar, and on their mouth was a mouth mask with a lock on it. They were dirty and starved. They were all covered in bruises and cuts. Some even had broken bones that were left unhealed. Shikamaru pulled out the camera that he brought and started to take pictures very carefully. He didn't want to get noticed or they would have a fight on their hands.

"That one boy is he asleep?" Kiba asked.

There was one young boy barely three years old and he was limp against the restraints.

"He's dead. They leave the bodies until they start to smell. If the right person comes along they will still sell him out for those that like to sleep with the dead." Sasuke said.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Kiba asked disgusted.

"No" Sasuke said simply.

"This is sick." Naruto said.

"Where are the girls?" Ino asked.

"They keep them in a different spot. Girls are more expensive, because they age out older, because they can be used to clean the houses of clients. There is also more ways to have sex with them."

"We have to stop this." Gaara said.

"Don't they have someone to watch them?" Neji asked.

"Usually, but it's early still. During the day is usually when they are being brought back by the night's owner."

"Why are their mouths blocked off?" Sakura asked.

"They're slaves. They have no name, no rights; they only talk when they are told to. Every right and freedom you have and take for granted they have none of that. They do what they are told and they do it when they are told to do it. It doesn't matter what it is that you are asked you have to do it or you get beaten. If one of the girls gets pregnant, assuming the child lives to birth they take the baby and put the baby into this life once he or she is three. This is their life and it's the only life most of them have ever known."

"Shikamaru did you take pictures?" Kakashi asked.

"I took a lot of pictures. I would like to do the same for the females and any outside ninja."

They continued on their way down the road and every time they saw a ninja from another village Shikamaru took a picture of it. They made it to the girls' alley and they were in the same positions as the boys only they were wearing short dirty dresses. Shikamaru took pictures of everything. They didn't stay for very long as they were all ready to start killing people to free the children. Once they were outside of the village was when they talked.

"We can't leave them like that." Lee said.

"We can't risk starting another war." Kankurou said.

"So we just leave them like that? By the time this war is over all those kids will be dead." Naruto said.

"Realistically those kids will be dead by the end of the month. Two kids will be dead by the end of the day." Sasuke said as he walked away from the group.

"What do you think we should do Kakashi-San?" Gaara asked.

"We can't risk starting another war, but we can't ignore this problem for the next four months."

"Is there a squad in Konoha that Tsunade-San can have to come out and handle this?" Gaara asked.

"There are ninja in Konoha that won't stand for this. All she needs to do is find ninja with children. If we send the photos back to her, with where the village is located, she will be able to handle this."

"Let's do it. I don't want to ignore this and have those children die needlessly. Can you have one of your hounds deliver the message?"

"I can. Shikamaru do you have the photos?"

Shikamaru grabbed the photos while Kakashi summoned Pakun. Shikamaru handed the photos over to Kakashi and he attached them to Pakun's collar.

"I want you to deliver these to Tsunade and Tsunade only. Tell her that this problem can't wait that the targets will be dead by the end of the month. Tell her the location and have her send out a squad of normal ninja to handle this. Understood?"

"You got it boss."

"And hurry"

"On it."

Pakun took off into the trees and headed for Konoha.

"Tsunade will have the right squad come out and take care of this. She'll also make sure the children are healed and in a proper home before they leave."

"Once this war is over we will need to keep a closer eye on these villages. Make sure that they haven't been taken back over by the drug lords or slavers." Gaara said.

"That will be key in the village's recovery. It won't do them any good if we clean it up and then just leave them to figure the rest out. If any of the ninjas from these villages come to fight in this war it will give us the perfect opportunity to speak to them." Kakashi said.

"I hope they will come and fight in this war. We'll see shortly just how many people are willing to fight for Sasuke."

Karin came over to speak with them.

"We need to get moving we can't risk being outside of this village for too long."

"We're ready." Kakashi said.

They started off again and traveled for another nine hours and were currently on their third break. Sasuke had gotten worse over the course of the day and now when you spoke to him he had a hard time focusing on getting a sentence out. They had stopped ten minutes ago and Sasuke was still trying to get a breath. His lips were tinted blue and his body was shaking from the pain. Sasuke's body was not meant to be traveling this much. It had only been six days since he had been out of the Sound and he had been traveling for those six days. It was too much for his battered body to handle. He had also seemed to have gotten worse with the large group. The more stressed he got the worse his mind had gotten and the presences of sixteen other people had stirred up his anxiety. This day was going downhill and it was going downhill fast. The sun hadn't even started to set yet and Sasuke was done he couldn't do anymore. Sasuke was over by his squad, but even they were standing further back. Kakashi turned to the group.

"He's having a lot of trouble. He can't go any farther today."

"His lips are blue he can't breathe properly. He needs to let me heal him." Sakura said.

"He won't. I don't know what it's going to take for him to let someone heal him. Maybe Itachi will be able to get him to do that."

"His mind is getting worse. He can't think properly at all. It seems like we're making it worse." Shikamaru said.

"It's his anxiety it's making him stressed and that is making his mind worse. I think it would be better for him if we split up. There are too many of us and he's not used to it at all. I don't want to make him worse." Kakashi said.

"Look, I'm just going to say what everyone has been thinking at some point today. Should he really be doing the strategy for this war? He can't remember simple words at times. How is he going to plan a war?" Kiba asked.

"Sasuke is still a genius with great instincts. The decisions he has made so far have been very intelligent and all the right ones. He has brain damage how bad we don't know, but that doesn't make him stupid. It's a horrible day today, but not every day will be this bad. Shikamaru and I can be there to help him get his mind focused and his thoughts down. I believe in him and I know he can do this."

"I think that is something we all really need to remember. Sasuke is still a genius regardless of the brain damage. We shouldn't talk to him or treat him like he is mentally incapable." Gaara said.

"This is so confusing. I constantly feel like I'm going to do something wrong." Ino said.

"The best thing you can do is be yourself. That goes for all of you. Act the same way you always have and that will help Sasuke get used to being in a normal world."

"If we are going to get moving we should start. Who is staying here?" Gai asked.

"I'm not leaving Sasuke." Naruto said.

"Neither am I." Sakura said.

"I don't think any more of us should stay. We don't want to keep too many around Sasuke just yet." Gaara said.

"I agree. I also think that when the ninja from these villages start to arrive they should see Sasuke first. You guys will get to the castle first I think you should wait further back until we meet up with you. If they see Konoha and Sand ninjas it won't go over well." Kakashi said.

"We'll stay back and wait for you to arrive." Gaara said.

"Stay safe." Kakashi said.

"You to." Gai said back.

Kakashi headed over to Sasuke and his squad and explained that the others were going to continue on. Sasuke's squad agreed that the extra people were not helping Sasuke's anxiety or stress level. The others continued on and after thirty minutes Sasuke had been able to stop coughing at least. He was still having trouble breathing and there was a wheeze to his breathing. His lips were still blue and Kakashi was starting to wonder if Sasuke would ever be able to get to the castle. The traveling seemed to be making his body worse and Kakashi was seriously starting to second guess himself. He didn't know if letting Sasuke do this was going to make him worse or not. He knew Sasuke felt like he had to do this, but that didn't mean he should let him. Kakashi decided to give Sasuke some space. He needed to do some thinking anyways about what to do. Kakashi was truly torn between doing what was needed to be done and what he considered to be what is right. If Kakashi had it his way Sasuke would be lying in a hospital bed getting the medical help that he needed. Sasuke needed to heal and to get back into a good health level. Kakashi didn't know what good health for Sasuke would be anymore, but that was something he wouldn't be able to find out until Sasuke let a medic look at him.

They were all sitting around a camp fire and Sasuke was over by one of the trees just off to the side of them. They were giving him some time alone to try and get his pain down and his mind back. They didn't even have time to react when they felt the murderous rage hit them. They all jumped up, but by the time they reacted Itachi had already knocked Kakashi down. Itachi was so pissed he had chakra flames going around him and the others were too afraid to even move. Itachi went to strike Kakashi again when Sasuke ran over to Itachi and placed his hands on Itachi's chest.

"Stop" Sasuke said weakly.

Itachi was pissed everyone could see that. Itachi looked down at Sasuke and only when he saw just how bad of shape he was in did the chakra flames die down. Sasuke was shaking, had blue lips and was having a hard time breathing. He was far worse than he was when Itachi had left him. Itachi was having a hard time getting his anger under control and Sasuke could feel every ounce of his rage.

"They… they um" Itachi could see Sasuke trying to find the words. It was like he couldn't get his mind and mouth to work together. "They didn't know. Stop."

Itachi couldn't believe how hard it as for Sasuke to get a sentence out. He couldn't help the look of concern on his face as he brother tried to speak. Itachi gently wrapped his arms around him and held Sasuke against his chest. Sasuke didn't fight he just put his head down against Itachi's chest and closed his eyes. Itachi looked over to Kakashi who was now standing. Itachi's eyes were full of concern for his little brother.

"We need to talk." Kakashi said gently to Itachi.

Kakashi knew that Itachi would have questions and be confused. Sasuke wouldn't have been like this when Itachi saw him last. Itachi put his head down gently on top of Sasuke's. Itachi could feel Sasuke's shaking getting worse and he knew his body needed to sit down. Itachi whispered into Sasuke's ear.

"Come on you need to sit down."

Itachi let Sasuke go and helped guide him over to a nearby tree. Itachi helped Sasuke sit down on the ground and bent down so he was eye level with him. Kakashi walked by them and headed over to an area where they would be able to talk alone without Sasuke hearing them.

"I'll be right back." Itachi said to Sasuke.

"Where…"

"I'm just going to go talk to Kakashi about this whole situation. I'll be coming right back and you can see me over there. I won't be long just sit here and try to catch your breath."

"Ok"

Itachi gave Sasuke one last look before he got up and headed over to where Kakashi was standing there waiting for him. Kakashi knew Itachi was going to have more questions now than he did when he got here. Kakashi didn't want Sasuke to hear them talking about him. Itachi came over to Kakashi and made sure his body was facing Kakashi, but he could still see Sasuke and Sasuke could still see him.

"What the hell did you do to my brother?" Itachi asked the anger could be heard all throughout his voice.

"I know this is difficult, but you need to stay calm. Sasuke is sensitive to emotions and we don't want him worse than he already is." Kakashi said calmly.

Itachi closed his eyes and took a moment to take a deep breath to get his emotions in check. It was always easy except for when it came to Sasuke. Whenever something happened to Sasuke Itachi couldn't control his emotions. It was why their father never liked Itachi and Sasuke to be together. Sasuke kept Itachi human and for a ninja that was dangerous. Once Itachi got his emotions under control he opened his eyes again.

"He wasn't like this six days ago when I freed him."

"This is only the second day that I have seen him. He wasn't this bad yesterday and tomorrow he could be the complete opposite. Let's start at the beginning. You know he was summoned by Tsunade to help with the war?"

"No I didn't know that or I would never have let him go. We talked about the war. I told him that I would deal with Madara and the followers. All I needed from him was to get an army together and a plan. He said he could handle doing that. He must have gotten the summons after I left the next day."

"Where did you leave him?"

"I left him in a safe place where he could heal. He refused to see a medic, but said if he got worse he would. How long was he in Konoha for?"

"He arrived yesterday early afternoon. We didn't know that he had been gone for three and a half years. We thought he willingly left three years ago. We even went after him, but he got away. We had no idea that the council had sold him to Orochimaru or created a clone. We only found out, because Sasuke came to Konoha and Gaara sensed something was wrong so he put a small microphone on Sasuke. We heard him talking to his squad about the situation. That's when we first ever heard anything about this. Tsunade had no idea; she's investigating it now as well as other things. Sasuke knew the war couldn't be in Konoha, but Konoha ninjas won't listen to him. So he decided to leave Konoha and go to Safe Haven Castle. He sent out over two hundred messages to the villages that won't fight for the seven nations. Gaara and his ninjas are going to be there as well. Once Gaara found out about Konoha's council selling Sasuke he terminated his alliance to Konoha until a new council is elected."

"Where are they now?"

"Gaara and his siblings are continuing on with a group of Konoha ninjas. Just the ones that Sasuke has fought beside before. Like I said, none of us had even known about this mess. We all thought that Sasuke willingly left Konoha. I hate myself for knowing that I thought he would betray the village. The clone made it believable. He was angry and distant. He started a fight with Naruto and the two almost killed each other. It truly was believable."

"Everyone makes mistakes. It's what you do to right them that counts more. The others are heading to the castle?"

"They are. We had been traveling together and yesterday Sasuke seemed fine. He was in pain and sick, but he didn't seem to have that many mental problems. Today though has been bad. I don't even know where to start and there is no easy way to say this. Sasuke has brain damage. We don't know how bad, because he won't let a medic look at him. His pneumonia is server he had a high fever last night and it's causing him problems breathing. We also think he has lung damage which is adding to the stress on his breathing. When he travels too far his lips turn blue from not getting enough oxygen. His body is in a lot of pain and he even said some days it's so bad he can't even move. Today is a horrible day for his mind and he is having troubles focusing and remembering things. The others were here traveling with us, but it seemed to be making his anxiety worse so they are continuing on. He hasn't slept in three years straight. Last night we talked a little bit and he explained to me that he gets anxiety when he tries to sleep, because Orochimaru used to do things to him once he fell asleep. I talked him through it last night and he did end up sleeping for three hours roughly. He got nightmares and we talked through them, but every time he woke up he would have anxiety about going back to sleep. It was a hard night, but the important thing is that he slept."

Itachi didn't say anything for a few minutes. He just looked over at his brother who had his legs brought up to his chest. Itachi could see that he was sick and not doing so well. He was thinner than he remembered seeing him and Itachi felt so powerless. When Itachi finally did turn his attention to Kakashi you could hear the emotional pain in his voice.

"He has brain damage."

"He does. Now like I said we don't know how bad it is. Karin knows more about it than I do. This is only the second day I've seen Sasuke since he's been in the Sound."

Itachi turned to the group.

"Karin."

Karin got up and came over to them and made sure she didn't block Itachi or Sasuke's view of each other.

"Explain to me about the brain damage." Itachi said.

"I don't know much about it. I can tell you he isn't like this every day. He does have days were he is good and doesn't have any problems. Some days he has a few problems with remembering things like asking a question or an answer to a question. Its small things really on bad days. On days like today, on horrible days, he can't focus, remember words, questions, conversations and tomorrow unless someone brings it up and reminds him he won't remember what happened."

"So tomorrow he won't remember Itachi being here or going to that village?" Kakashi said.

"You would have to bring it up and remind him. Then he will remember, though mentioning the village might not be the best idea."

"Why?"

"Orochimaru used to run most of the slavery rings. He would check in on the villages and he would bring Sasuke. Orochimaru treated Sasuke like a slave. He would keep him on a leash, when he went out with Sasuke he made him wear a mask over his mouth and locked it. He would call him pet and constantly tell him he was no one. That's why we call Sasuke by his name when we speak to him so he remembers who he is. In a normal situation Sasuke would have been brainwashed. The only reason he remembered that he was from a different place was, because he believed that Kakashi would come for him. Thinking about Kakashi helped Sasuke remember who he was. That he wasn't from this place."

"That's why you didn't want to be around the village for very long. You were worried that someone would recognize him." Kakashi said.

"That would have made Sasuke's anxiety worse. It also could have started a fight and Sasuke can't defend himself right now. The best solution was to just leave as fast as we could."

"What village is this?" Itachi asked.

"Sasuke found out about a slavery ring that goes through over two hundred small villages. Now that I know he found out through Orochimaru. It's the Hitaki village just north of here. We took pictures and sent them back to Tsunade to do something about it. We were going to wait until this war was over, but it can't wait that long. There are roughly sixty boys and girls as young as three chained up outside waiting to be sold in the sex trade. One boy was dead and they left him chained up in case someone still wanted him. If all of the villages are like that it's going to be extremely hard to put an end to it."

"I've been through a few of the small villages, but only ever came across drug dealers and poverty. I've never came across one with child sex slaves." Itachi said.

"You should see it. You wouldn't believe it. I didn't until I saw it. I thought maybe Sasuke was confused, but he was dead on."

"Once I leave here I'll go take a look and see what I can discover. Karin I need to speak with Kakashi alone. Thank-you for the information." Itachi said.

"No problem"

Karin walked back over to the others and Itachi gave Sasuke a small smile to let him know everything was alright.

"What can I do to help?" Itachi asked Kakashi.

"Even if he gets healed he can't be traveling. At this rate the castle is six maybe seven days away. It's too far for him and his body to handle."

"The castle is the perfect place to fight this war. I never even thought of it. Sasuke has always been the mind and I've always been the fighter. I know it doesn't seem like it, but Sasuke's strategy for this war will be what makes us succeed. He just might need some help getting his mind to work."

"I'll be there to help him. I believe in him and I know he can do this if I can just get him there alive."

"There's a seal that I can perform. It will transport everyone to the castle or close enough to it. It will make him tired and worn out though. With him being this sick it can be very dangerous. He needs to be healed."

"I can be up with him all night. I can talk him through the anxiety and nightmares. I can get him to gradually eat. I can get him to sleep in a bed and work on his anxiety. I can help him with his mind and getting it focused and working through the brain damage. What I can't do is get him to let Sakura heal him. I can't get him to take a prescription to cure his pneumonia. I need you to get him to do that. The rest I can do while you are away getting this war organized."

"Sakura is a medic-nin?"

"She is."

"I'll get him to do it. Then tomorrow I can transport all of you to the castle. He'll be tried from it and possibly in pain so he won't be able to do much afterwards."

"That's fine. He doesn't have to do anything afterwards. I just need him to get healed so he can start to get healthy. We also need to know what is wrong with his body. He told me that his neck has been broken and his back has been broken nine times. His hands shake and I think that is more from nerve damage than actual nerves. We need to know what damage is done."

"I'll talk to him and he'll do it. He won't want to, but he will. If I have to I'll put him to sleep. He won't like it if I do, but I would rather him be upset with me and healthy then the other alternative. Give me some time alone with him so I can talk to him about it."

"Take all the time you need."

Kakashi walked back over to the group and Itachi went over to Sasuke. He bent down so he was eye level with Sasuke as he spoke.

"Why don't we go over there where we can talk in private?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing little brother. There is just something important I need to talk to you about."

"Okay"

Itachi helped Sasuke get up and they walked over to where Kakashi and Itachi were just standing. Itachi helped Sasuke sit down against another tree and this time Itachi sat down in front of him. Itachi wanted to be able to look at Sasuke as he spoke. He also didn't want Sasuke to feel intimidated at all so he sat down like they were having a normal conversation.

"How are you feeling?"

"Not so good." Sasuke said weakly.

"You're not looking so good. You're very sick Sasuke."

"I'm dying aren't I?"

"No you are not dying. I'm not going to let you die. Tomorrow before I leave we are going to have a very serious conversation about a lot of things. Right now though, your mind isn't doing so well. You must see that." Itachi said gently.

Sasuke just gave a small nod. Itachi could see the hurt written all over Sasuke's face. Sasuke knew something was seriously wrong with himself, but he was more afraid of finding out what more than anything.

"Listen to me and listen good. I love you no matter what. Nothing in this world is going to change that. I know you're afraid of finding out all the medical problems, but we need to know. You don't know what can be healed and what can't be. Sakura might be able to do something about all of this. If nothing else she'll be able to make it so you can breathe properly."

"Medics are bad." Sasuke said with some tears in his eyes. Itachi knew he was fighting with memories right in that moment.

"No Kabuto was bad. Not all medics are bad people Sasuke. There have been a lot of things taken from you that you had no say in. The last thing I want to do is to make you worse, but you need to be healed. I can't let you put this off any longer. So you have two choices. The first one I can be right here beside you keeping you safe while Sakura heals you. The second is I can put you to sleep and when you wake up you will be healed. Which one would you like to do?"

"No please don't put me to sleep please I'll be good." Sasuke said in a panic.

Sasuke breathing was picking up and Itachi could see that he was having a panic attack. Itachi didn't expect Sasuke to react this way and now that he had Itachi needed to figure out how to do this. He wasn't used to dealing with people like this. He took care of Sasuke growing up, but he was never like this. Itachi just didn't know what to do with Sasuke. He had spent too many years being a cold hearted ninja and now he had to figure out how to be the caring big brother again. Itachi wasn't sure he could do that. Itachi knew that for the sake of Sasuke he needed to figure out how to do this. Itachi placed his hands on Sasuke's arms and gently started to rub them up and down as he spoke.

"Sasuke calm down and listen to me. I am not Orochimaru or Kabuto. I am not going to hurt you. If you don't want to be put to sleep then I won't do it. Just breathe."

Sasuke was only getting worse and Itachi really didn't know what to do. It seemed like he was having a panic attack and a flashback all at the same time. Itachi looked over to Kakashi who was looking back at him. Itachi nodded his head to get Kakashi to come over there with him. Kakashi got up and told the others to stay there. Kakashi came over to them and bent down to see that Sasuke was having a hard time getting under control.

"What did you say to him?" Kakashi asked Itachi.

"I told him that he needed to be healed. That if he wanted I could put him to sleep. Then he started to panic and now I can't get him to calm down."

"Stop touching him. It's making him worse."

"I've touched him just a few minutes ago it didn't bother him." Itachi removed his hands from Sasuke.

"He wasn't having a panic attack and a flashback when you did. Sasuke listen to me you are safe. You are not in the Sound anymore. They can't hurt you. Listen to my voice you are safe."

Kakashi speaking to him got Sasuke's attention and he turned his head to look at him.

"That's it you're safe Sasuke. Orochimaru and Kabuto can't hurt you. You are not in the Sound. Take slow deep breaths to calm down."

Sasuke took a few deep breathes to try and calm down. He couldn't stop the memories that were coming forward into his mind.

"It's not safe to sleep. His hands…"

Sasuke was hyperventilating now and Kakashi needed to take control of this before it got too extreme.

"Sasuke look at me." Kakashi said sternly.

Sasuke looked over at Kakashi.

"You are safe do you hear me? You are safe. You don't have to sleep and no one is going to touch you unless you say so. You are not in the Sound. Orochimaru is dead and he can never lay a hand on you again. Now I need you to look at me and take slow deep breathes."

Sasuke kept his eyes on Kakashi and took slow deep breathes. After a tense few minutes Sasuke's breathing was going back to normal.

"That's it. Good Sasuke nice deep breathes. You're safe it's okay." Kakashi said gently.

Sasuke kept taking deep breathes until his breathing was under control. Itachi couldn't believe that Kakashi was able to get Sasuke to calm down and he seemed to make it worse. Sasuke was his little brother. He should have been able to get the situation under control and not Kakashi. Itachi didn't know how to do any of this and that alone was upsetting him, because he should know how to comfort Sasuke. He should be the one that can calm him down and make the nightmares go away like he did when Sasuke was younger. After another ten minutes Sasuke's breathing had returned to normal and the panic attack had ended.

"I'm sorry little brother I didn't mean to upset you. This is all new to me and I'm not sure of what to say or what to do. I don't want to upset you. Maybe it would be better if I leave."

Itachi went to get up he stopped when he felt a small shaking hand on his arm. Itachi looked over at Sasuke and could see the confusion in his eyes. He could also see the hurt. Sasuke's mind couldn't process everything that was going on, but he was hurt that Itachi was going to leave him.

"Stay please." Sasuke said weakly.

"If that is what you want. I don't want to make you more upset than you already are. I know this is hard for you."

"Sleep is bad. Bad things happen when you sleep."

"That's okay Sasuke you don't have to sleep." Kakashi said.

It seems like Sasuke's anxiety about sleep was worse on days like today. Kakashi made a mental note and tried to get this conversation back on track.

"Sasuke we need you to get looked at by Sakura. She needs to heal you." Kakashi said.

"No doctors. Doctors are bad." Sasuke said with panic in his voice.

"Sasuke remember when you were younger and you were sick? You used to be so afraid to go to the doctors to get medicine. You didn't know what they were going to do or what the medicine would be. But remember that I always went with you and everything was always okay. You were scared, but by the end of it you were feeling better. The medicine helped make you better and healthy again. Without the doctor and the medicine you wouldn't have been able to play with me. It's scary, but that's okay you're allowed to be scared. I promise you though just like growing up I won't leave you. I won't let anyone hurt you or do anything you aren't ready for. Kakashi can stay here with you to and you know no one is going to be able to do anything to you with both of us here."

"Do I have to?"

"You do just like growing up you had to go, but you always felt better after you left. Kabuto was not a doctor he was a bad man. I'm not going to let any bad men hurt you." Itachi said.

"Sasuke it would be Sakura that heals you. You used to trust her with your life. She has never hurt you in any way and she won't now. We can take it slow and she will tell you everything she is going to do before she does it. Can you try for us?"

Sasuke was quiet for a long time before he finally spoke.

"You both won't leave right?"

"We won't Sasuke." Kakashi said.

"Promise?"

"We promise little brother."

"Okay"

Kakashi got up and headed over to the group to bring Sakura over to Sasuke.

"He's agreed to let Sakura heal him. He's not happy about it and he is extremely afraid of it. You need to be calm and tell him everything you are going to do before you do it. Take it slow, but at the same time do it fast, because we don't know how long he will tolerate it for. Whatever his injuries are do not react to them. Heal him first and then tell us about his injuries. The important thing is for him to be healed do as much as you can as fast as you can."

"I'll see what I can do."

Sakura got up and followed Kakashi back over to where Sasuke and Itachi were sitting. Itachi had moved so he was now beside Sasuke so he could hold Sasuke if Sasuke needed him to. Kakashi stood back slightly he didn't want to over crowd Sasuke, but at the same time he wanted Sasuke to know that he was there for him. Sakura bent down so she could be close enough to heal Sasuke.

"Sasuke I am going to start with your lungs first. I'm going to hover my hands over your chest and then I will do your stomach. I'm not going to touch you I promise. None of this is going to hurt you at all. Are you ready?"

Sasuke looked over at Itachi and then Kakashi before he gave a small nod. Sakura gave him a smile before she moved her hands slowly to his chest and let her green chakra flow through them. She wanted to focus on Sasuke's lungs first. If Sasuke couldn't tolerate this for very long she wanted him to at least be able to breathe better. She kept her face neutral as she was able to finally find out what was wrong with Sasuke. She didn't want Sasuke to see her concern or sadness. He was having a hard time with his mind today and she didn't want to make it worse. Itachi sat close to Sasuke and Sasuke had grabbed Itachi's hand. Itachi whispered comforting words into Sasuke's ear as Sakura did her job. It was a good thirty minutes later when Sakura was finally done with Sasuke and Sasuke had done very well. Sakura could have healed him a little more, but she could see that he had had enough and she wasn't going to push him past his breaking point. What didn't get healed would heal on its own and Sasuke would be fine. She stepped back and let Sasuke have some breathing room once again.

"You are all set Sasuke. You should notice that you can breathe better and you are in less pain. There are a few injuries that I didn't heal, but they won't be any problem they can heal on their own. I have healed your lungs and as much of the pneumonia that I could. You really do need a prescription to make it completely go away. I can always pick one up at a hospital the next time we go near a village. Or if the castle as an infirmary it might have something for you. I can explain the rest of the injuries for you if you'd like."

They could all see that Sasuke was getting overwhelmed it was a lot of information for his mind to handle right now. In the morning he would be in a better place mentally hopefully. They could explain all of this tomorrow to him.

"I'm so tired… I…I can't…"

"That's okay Sasuke we don't have to have this conversation right now. We can do this later tomorrow. You did good Sasuke I'm proud of you." Kakashi said sincerely.

"You did good little brother. Do you want a few minutes alone?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke gave a nod and the others could see he was relieved to have a few minutes alone. Itachi got up and followed Kakashi and Sakura back to the group who were desperate for answers.

"Be quiet so Sasuke doesn't hear this conversation." Kakashi said before Sakura or anyone could start.

"What did you find?" Itachi asked.

Sakura let out a sigh that she had been holding in for a while now. She didn't even know where to begin to explain the injuries that Sasuke had.

"I don't even know where to start." Sakura confessed.

"Start at the top and work your way down." Karin said.

"The brain damage is permanent. There's no question about it. There's minor, moderate and server. Sasuke has moderate brain damage, which means that it is bad, but it's not server that will affect him every day. The brain damage will make it hard for him to remember and his fine motor skills. It won't change his personality or how he thinks. It will just do as we have seen make it hard for him to focus, speak, and remember things. Some days it will be this bad some days it won't. It really depends on if he is sleeping enough, stressed out or his anxiety level reaches too high. These will all make it worse and can make for more bad days than good days."

"Is there anything we can do to help him have more good days than bad?" Kakashi asked.

"You can do simple memory exercises like flash cards, card games, things like that. It makes that part of his brain focus and work and it could help give Sasuke more good days than bad days. Obviously it won't fix the brain damage, but it could help give him more good days. Obviously he was covered in bruises, cuts, burns and scars. There is nothing I can do about them they will heal on their own. I searched his blood he doesn't have any diseases of any kind. He had some damage done to his vocal cords that I healed so his voice should be better. The damage was done from the collar being too tight. It also caused damage to his wind pipe which was adding to his breathing problems. I healed that as well and his lungs so now he should be able to breathe almost perfectly. He will still have some trouble with the pneumonia. I can't heal that without a prescription. He did have lung damage and scar tissues on his lungs. From what I could tell he was stabbed multiple times in his lungs and that accumulated the scar tissue that was rubbing together causing pain. I healed all the damage done to his lungs including the scar tissue. The next main issue was his back. It was broken nine times and had never healed properly. He does have nerve damage done to his spine it is curable with some work. His hands shake from the nerve damage and he just needs to get strength back into his hands to strengthen his nerves. I suggest a stress ball he can squeeze it and strengthen his muscles and nerves in his hands. They might always have a slight tremble to them it's hard to say with nerve damage. There is server nerve damage to his spine. It is why he can be in so much pain that he can't move. When the pain gets bad I would usually suggest massages, but he doesn't like to be touched so that won't work. There are exercises that he can try to help strengthen the nerves once again. Physical therapy would be good for him to try and do. Because it is his spine it can affect his hips, arms, legs and his neck, which is a whole other problem. It will be a long process for him to recover physically and even then he will still have bad days. What physical therapy will do will help increase the number of good days and decrease the number of bad days. He will always have bad days though no matter what."

"What's wrong with his neck?" Kakashi asked.

He wanted all the information before he started to figure out how to help Sasuke.

"It's been broken only once thankfully, but it did not heal properly at all. He has pinched nerves that I can't heal. He's going to have a hard time turning his head to the left for the rest of his life. There isn't anything he can do to repair the damage. There will be days when it's extremely sore and he might want to consider a pain medication to take on those bad days. It will always hurt every day it will just vary in level. His bones are weak and fragile. He was kept in a very small space and they did not grow properly. He can make them stronger from eating and drinking properly. He can also take vitamins to increase his nutrient levels which will help strengthen his bones. Like I said though he will be in pain most days and the pain levels will vary from day to day. It's going to be a long hard life for Sasuke for a long while. Until he is able to get the right pattern down and figure out what works and what doesn't, it will be a long frustrating road for him."

Everyone was silent for the longest time. They were each trying to process what they had just heard. They knew that Sasuke was injured, but to actually hear all of his injuries and what his life was going to be like was completely different. Sasuke was always going to be in pain and there was nothing they could do to change that. All they could do was try and get Sasuke to have more good days than bad days, but those bad days will always be there. Kakashi's mind was going a mile a minute just trying to take in all the information. Kakashi was going to be there for Sasuke through all of this. There were things Sasuke could do to help his body heal and that was what Kakashi was going to focus on. Kakashi knew it was going to be a long road, but he wasn't going to just abandon Sasuke and let him figure this out. Kakashi was going to be there whether Sasuke wants him to be or not.

"This isn't fair." Naruto said.

"There are a lot of things in this world that aren't fair and they always happen to people who don't deserve it." Itachi said.

"He's never going to be okay. He's going to always be in pain." Naruto said back.

"Sasuke is used to being in pain. He has been in pain for three and a half years. Pain to Sasuke is nothing." Karin said.

"He doesn't deserve this." Naruto said.

"No he doesn't, but the pain can be managed. Sakura was able to provide us with some helpful tips on how Sasuke can overcome this. It will take some time, but Sasuke will be able to have more good days than bad. It will be a long process for Sasuke, but he can manage this pain. That is what needs to be focused on and not all of the negatives. Sasuke needs to understand that he has hope of a normal life. He won't be able to be a ninja any more, but he can have a normal life." Kakashi said.

"Normal life to do what? All he has ever known was being a ninja and now he can't do that." Naruto said.

"Sasuke is a genius he can do anything he wants. He could go to school and start a new career. I've always believed he was too smart and too good to be a ninja. To be surrounded by blood, dead bodies and pain. He has a chance for a fresh start now. It's important to be supportive of that fact and of him." Itachi said.

"Sasuke will make it. He's survived the last three and a half years he can survive the recovery." Suigetsu said.

"We need to give him some space for the rest of the night. His mind is having some problems and it's best to just give Sasuke some space. Tomorrow he should be better and able to have a conversation." Juugo said.

"I agree Sasuke needs some time by himself. I don't see him sleeping tonight." Kakashi said.

"He never sleeps when he's like this. It won't happen so there really is no point in you staying up all night trying." Karin said.

"I'll stay up with him in case he wants to talk or needs someone." Itachi said.

"Are you sure you can stay?" Kakashi asked.

"It'll be fine. The leader doesn't worry about me. In the morning if he is well enough then I can do the transportation seal." Itachi answered.

"Transportation seal?" Sakura asked.

"Itachi has a seal that can transport all of us to the castle or close enough to it. Sasuke shouldn't be travelling and now that he is healed it's safer for him to be transported through the seal." Kakashi answered.

"That's good, because he really shouldn't be travelling even though I've healed him. He still has injuries that will hurt and travelling will exhaust his already exhausted body." Sakura said.

"It also means that once we reach the castle then Sasuke can relax and start focusing on a plan." Suigetsu said.

"Is there part of a plan yet?" Itachi asked.

"Sasuke is hoping to have this war in four months. He's also hoping that we can kill some of the Akatsuki members before the war." Kakashi said.

"I can let Sasuke know when one of them is out on a mission. Do you have ninja strong enough to kill them?" Itachi asked.

"We do as long as it is just one at a time." Kakashi said.

"I can let Sasuke know when one of them is alone. The less of them there are at time of this war the chances of success will go up. Sasuke will be able to come up with a strategic plan for this war. His mind has always been good with strategy." Itachi said.

"I'm confident that Sasuke will be able to pull this off. I think the best thing we can do right now is to just rest up. Tomorrow will be a hectic day once we reach the castle. We don't know what shape it is in and we might have to do some repairs." Kakashi said.

"When we get there I'll check the infirmary and if need be I can go to another village to get supplies." Sakura said.

"We'll need a lot of different kind of supplies. We can figure all of that out though once we get there." Kakashi said.

"We should set up camp." Juugo said.

"I'll go find some water and fish." Suigetsu said.

"I'll go help you." Naruto said.

Suigetsu and Naruto headed off to go and get some fish for dinner and water for everyone. Juugo and Karin worked on setting up their camp and Sakura and Kakashi set up theirs. Itachi kept an eye on Sasuke, but he wanted to give him some space. Itachi didn't know how to handle this situation, but he was going to listen to Kakashi's advice and leave Sasuke alone. Sasuke needed some time by himself to try and get his mind back to focus and that was exactly what Itachi was going to give him. As the night went on everyone had eaten and decided to get some sleep. Itachi stayed up and Kakashi stayed up longer than the others with Itachi. It was only when Itachi told Kakashi that he wouldn't leave Sasuke alone did Kakashi finally agree to some sleep. He hadn't slept in two days and he knew that he would need to sleep. It was better for him to sleep tonight while Itachi was there with Sasuke. Itachi stayed away from Sasuke for a few more hours and when it got darkest out did Itachi move so he was sitting beside Sasuke. Itachi wanted Sasuke to know that he wasn't alone and if he needed Itachi he would be right there. That was how they had spent the night sitting beside each other in silence.


End file.
